Dog Chase
by CollapsingTruth
Summary: "Great… How exactly do these creepy old bittys expect me to convince this mutt to embrace a second chance when he's not even aware he's lost his first? And when I don't really have much to offer in return?" Sequel to Defining A Soul. :D
1. Prologue: Ravari Shadow

**DISCLAIMER: The Harry Potter universe is not mine, I only own some of what I've "tweaked." Thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Prologue: Ravari Shadow<strong>

_Ravari Shadow fell in love with the son of a mercenary. The son returned her love and had asked for her hand, to which she had happily accepted._

_The mercenary, a widower himself, had had his eye on the Shadow's only daughter and the large fortune she would inherit. He had spent so much time courting and trying to win over Ravari's hand that he had become obsessed with his goal and, every night, dreamed about the gold in his future. When the son had announced his betrothal, the father became enraged and murdered his son in cold blood, unwilling to share the Shadow fortune with anyone, even his own son._

_Ravari, who had been waiting on the other side of the door for her fiancé to announce their engagement, heard the awful thud that was made by his body hitting the floor. Ravari ran into the room and her heart was destroyed when she saw the lifeless body of her lover. Heart broken, she carefully retrieved the blade from his chest. She turned around and quicker than the eye could see, viciously stabbed the mercenary through the heart with his own blade._

_As Death came to claim the soul of the mercenary, Ravari asked him to take her as well because she wanted nothing more to do with life._

_When Death raised his scythe to claim her as well he was stopped by the sudden appearance of a young woman with marble skin, white hair, and coal black eyes._

_While she did not say a word, Death bowed before her, taking the mercenary and son's souls then leaving._

_The young woman disappeared shortly afterwards, never having said a word._

_Ravari stared at them in shock._

_Ravari, in her grief, traveled to the Sacred Garden that lay in Shadow Tree and swore to whomever was listening that the Shadow Line would die with her, for she would love no other man._

_The same young woman that had appeared before returned with a middle aged woman and an old lady._

_Ravari, uncaring of who they were, only angered by the young woman who thwarted her death before, restated her threat._

_The three women spoke as one, identifying themselves as the Weavers of Fate and saying that the Shadow Line could not die._

_Ravari stubbornly refused to give in. Swearing only bringing her lover back from death would be enough for her._

_The Fates gave her a choice: She could have her love once more, but only if he trusted her enough to follow her from the past. But, she would have to surrender a life in return for his._

_When Ravari asked who's life it would be the Fates were mute only saying it would be known at a time of the Fate's choosing._

_Ravari hesitantly agreed, unsure whom she had condemned to death yet wanting her lover back more than anything._

_Ravari was sent into the past for him and his love for her was such, that in an instant he agreed to travel back with her._

_After returning to the present, they immediately married. Within a year, Ravari was with child._

_The moment the baby boy took his first breath, Ravari took her last._

_Fate had kept its promise while still making sure the Shadow Line would survive._

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><p><strong><strong>AN: I'll do my best to update every week. :)<strong>**


	2. Chapter 1: Searching for Fate

**Chapter One: July 1997: Searching for Fate**

Assi couldn't help but literally dance with joy when she found the hidden story in one of the family archives. In the past two and a half months she had spent every available moment reading through the library at Shadow Tree.

Considering the fact that the Shadow Tree library held nearly every book in existence, Assi had often wondered if she would be able to find what she was looking for in her lifetime.

Assi grinned as she ran upstairs to the top floor of Shadow Tree Mansion. Along the way she encountered she encountered a centaur debating philosophy with a 3'2" peeved leprechaun who appeared to be a hair's breath away from jinxing the poor centaur. The little green-skinned leprechaun was trying to voice his side of the argument but the centaur, who Assi recognized as Arwelle, wouldn't let him speak.

"Mica!" Assi called, still walking hurriedly towards her destination.

"Yes, Mistress?" The little elf appeared an instant later, already running beside Assi in order to keep up with her hurried pace. Assi slowed her pace on the stairs slightly so as not to exhaust her. Assi had known Mica since she was a little girl and she knew that Mica would be able to handle any request quietly and discretely.

"Can you please keep an eye on the leprechaun with the orange hair talking to Arwelle? I'd prefer it if neither one of them got hurt." She told Mica as she reached the top of the fourth floor.

Mica simply nodded and disappeared the next instant.

Assi continued down the corridor, trusting Mica to avoid any problems.

Shadow Tree was a place of healing and learning and it was evident by it's very existence.

It was believed that the very first magic wielders had been afraid that the race of humans would endanger the entire world around them in their quest for power. So, in order to protect the world, they created Sanctuary and placed a young couple as their guardians, placing spells upon spells so that the descendents of the young couple would be the absolute authority and guardians of Sanctuary.

Since its creation, Sanctuary has hidden within the myths of every race only allowing the descendents of the original couple, christened the Shadow Line, to grant entrance within its boundaries. The Shadow Line, wary of the growing hunger within the race of man, has rarely let any of their species enter and has allowed the myth of Sanctuary to dwindle through the ages until it is nearly nonexistent.

Due to the scarceness of stories told of the Sanctuary, those who know the myths believe that Sanctuary is only one place.

They're wrong.

Sanctuary is two. One called Shadow Tree. It is the home of healing and knowledge. The other is Dragon Peak. The home of balance and truth.

Shadow Tree and Dragon Peak were two vastly different places who's similarities were subtle and often overlooked. While Shadow Tree was enchanted to never remain in the same location for long, Dragon Peak was permanently fixated high above the mountains in place spelled so that no one and nothing could get close without permission.

The one sure way to enter Dragon Peak, other than transportation from one of the many elves sworn into the protection of Sanctuary and spelled into it's security, was one of the two magic tapestries that hung in Shadow Tree. The first, a large mural of a golden mountain peak surrounded by dozens of colorful dragons all intricately woven into a deep blue cloth as soft as silk, was located in the first floor before the large front doors of Shadow Tree. To pass through to Dragon Peak, the one requesting admittance had to touch a white mark in the shape of an elaborate "S" at the peak of the mountain. The "S" was the Shadow Line's signature and if admittance was granted, the entire mural would waver slightly as if had been transformed into liquid and all the individual would have to do was walk through it to Dragon Peak waiting on the other side. If admittance was rejected, the mural would simply remain solid and the passageway locked.

The second tapestry hung in the private library on the fourth floor that held all of the Shadow Line's archives and journals. The tapestry was a large mural of a white sun outlined in dark blue against a golden background with the elaborate "S" woven in blue in the center of the sun. This tapestry was always in it's constant liquid-like appearance, keeping a passageway open to Dragon Peak from Shadow Tree at all times. Since no one except the Shadow Line and a few trusted House Elves were allowed on the fourth floor, it was the one Assi always rushed to when she wanted to get to Dragon Peak in a hurry with the least possible observers.

Assi walked through the tapestry without a pause, still in too much of a hurry to slow down. She had to pause briefly at the other side of the tapestry, however, since the sudden disorientation that came with passing through always took a moment to adjust to. Assi took that moment to look at her surroundings briefly.

The private office was in immaculate condition, as always. Every book was placed in its appropriate spot, every paper filed exactly where it needed to be. The chairs were placed perfectly in front of the maple wood desk with the one behind it, sitting in just the right spot. Every picture on the wall was perfectly straight and every throw pillow on the couch was… well, perfect.

Assi wondered for a moment whether she should disrupt the nauseating perfection a bit, just to see her sister's reaction.

Assi shook her head. As tempting as that was, Leli would probably murder her for doing it on purpose. Besides, she had better things to worry about.

"Dee?" Assi called out. She wasn't sure exactly where her sister was and she didn't want to spend hours looking for her. She was in a hurry, after all.

"You called, Mistress Assiel?" Dee asked a second after she appeared. Dee was dressed in the same flowered yellow dress she favored and wearing her usual bright smile.

Assi gave a small smile in return and asked where Leli was.

After Dee told her where she was, Assi gripped tightly to the book in her hand and went in search of Leli.

Assi hurried down the stairs to the large meeting room on the first floor.

"I should've gone through the public tapestry." Assi grumbled to herself as she passed the large mural of a silver outlined dark green forest laying on a silken mahogany background. The embroidered silver "S" lay in the middle of the forest.

She knocked on the large ornate double doors of the meeting room.

"Come in!" Assi heard Leli call from within and the doors slid outward automatically.

Leli was sitting at one end of the large rectangular table, papers spread out before her in organized piles, wearing her usual black slacks and pale blouse.

Leli looked up from a paper she was marking and smiled when she saw it was Assi.

Assi grinned and hurried towards Leli, excitedly.

"Look at what I found!" She told Leli, pulling up a chair next to her and showing her the family journal she'd brought with her. She opened the page to Ravari Shadow's story and let Leli read it.

Assi fidgeted while Leli read and when Assi noticed she was done reading she said, "This means we can bring back Dad!"

Leli bit her lip and frowned. Her green-blue eyes shinning with worry. "Only if we give a life for a life."

Assi shook her head. "The Fates owe us. They took our mother from us."

"Mom died during childbirth." Leli protested.

"Witches don't die during childbirth." She told Leli straight out.

Leli raised a brow. "Witches are women, Assi. And any woman faces the threat of death with childbirth."

"No." Assi said sternly. "With witches, it seems the magic in their blood helps heal them. Other than our mother, and now Ravari Shadow, I have heard of no other witches dying directly from childbirth. None. There have been a few reports of "

Leli frowned. Assi had been reading medical books since she was younger and knew that Leli would realize how significant her never hearing of something would be.

Leli fingered the page of the book, "We would still need to find this Sacred Garden."

Assi had wondered about that, but she was pretty certain she knew where to at least start their search. "Do you remember that little garden besides the Merpeople's lake, where Mica would take us to play when we were little?"

Leli thought back for a while before her eyes lit with understanding. "I remember. It even felt calmer and the air smelled sweeter."

Assi nodded enthusiastically.

"Well, I suppose it's worth a try…" Leli told her, unsurely.

"I'll be careful." Assi told her, grabbing Leli's hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Of course you will. I'm going with you." Leli told her stubbornly.

Assi gave her a quick wink. Then she gestured to the papers on the table. "What's all this?"

Leli sighed and Assi flinched at the exhaustion behind that sigh.

Assi knew that the running of Sanctuary was a lot of work and so, they had split most of it between themselves. Yet, since their father's death in June, Assi had mostly ignored the entire world around her in her quest for finding a way to bring him back. Now, that she had found what she had been looking for, she realized how much weight she had placed on Leli's shoulders.

"These," she pointed to the papers she'd been marking, "are the variety of disputes the different races have now that there are more refugees seeking Sanctuary."

"And these," she pointed at another stack, "are the reports from the elves at Phoenix View."

"Wait," Assi interrupted before she could point at another stack. "Why are there reports on Phoenix View?"

Leli looked at Assi in surprise. "That's where the refugees are going, of course."

"Refugees?" Assi asked in confusion, "I thought that was the point of Sanctuary. Why are we using Dad's house?"

Leli frowned. "Because using Sanctuary for human refugees will cause chaos. And while Phoenix View isn't as protected or extensive as Sanctuary, it is still pretty big and Dad himself put up most of the wards. Besides, I'm already prepared to allow them into Sanctuary in case Phoenix View is breached. I would just feel better having that as the last resort."

"When did we start taking in human refugees?" Assi asked, not liking the fact that she had been this distanced from her sister and the rest of the world.

"Soon after we returned from school." Leli told her slowly, "I told you about it."

Assi shook her head, worriedly. She didn't doubt her sister, she just couldn't believe herself.

"Are there any people who need a healer?" she asked, determined to help in some way.

Leli shook her head. "There were some healers already in the group and they seem more comfortable with them."

Assi nodded and stared at the stacks of papers. "I'll meet with the Fates by myself."

"No." Leli told her simply, refusing to let her do this alone.

"Yes. You have too much on your plate already." Assi replied evenly, not about to give in on this. "And once this whole thing is settled I intend to help you out more."

Leli worried her bottom lip, studying Assi. Then she slowly nodded and Assi breathed a sigh of relief.

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><p>Assi stood in the secluded garden that overlooked the water, wondering if she could really do this.<p>

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and said, "I wish to speak with the Weavers of Fate."

She opened her eyes and nearly screamed at the sudden appearance of three women. Just like the story had said, they all had pure white skin, long white hair, and coal black eyes that made it difficult to know exactly where they were looking. While they looked identical and not a wrinkle blemished any of their faces, one still had a vitality that gave her the appearance of youth, the second held herself the way a proud middle-aged woman would, and the third had a world weary cast to her features that impressed the image of great age.

These were the Weavers of Fate.

Assi hadn't really thought they would come and she wasn't exactly sure what to say.

"The Shadow Heir-," began the youngest Fate.

"-has called. Now," continued the middle one.

"What do you want?" finished the oldest.

It was eerie how similar all of their voices sounded and discombobulating when it came from three different mouths.

Assi shook off the strange feelings and straightened, "I wish to bring my father back to life."

"No." The Fates replied as one.

"What?" Assi asked in disbelief. "You can't say no! You owe Leli and me a life!"

The youngest raised a brow and the oldest scoffed.

"We owe you nothing." the middle Fate replied.

Assi clenched her jaw. "You took our mother. You owe us a life."

"We don't owe you anything." the oldest told her simply.

"Our debt lies with Jenazi Shadow." the youngest informed her.

"Not with her children." the middle one finished.

"I'm claiming the debt since my mother can't." Assi told them, refusing to give ground.

"How very noble of you." the youngest replied sarcastically.

"But, before Jenazi's death, she gave us her price." the middle one informed Assi gently.

Assi's heart sank. She'd really thought she could bring her father back. The world needed him, now more than ever. But maybe she could, with a different death as payment?

"No." replied the oldest, before Assi could even voice her thought. "We will not barter with you or your sister's lives."

"Why not?" Assi insisted.

"No." the youngest one told her again. Infuriating Assi by not giving her an answer.

"You bartered with my mother and with Ravari Shadow." Assi pointed out stubbornly.

"Ravari Shadow had died with the death of her love," the middle one told Assi.

"And her soul ravaged by the murderer she committed." the oldest Fate announced.

"We had no choice but to let her attempt to bring him back," the youngest continued.

"And take her life before her inner wounds became so terrible she would taint the Shadow Line forever." the oldest said with a shake of her head.

"Oh." Assi replied. The feeling of three individuals talking together and the information itself nearly overwhelming her.

Assi frowned as she processed their statements.

"Then why did you take my mother? And what did you give _her_ in return?"

"Ah, Jenazi Shadow. Now, she was a special case." the oldest stated.

"We took her because the wounds Tom Riddle inflicted on body were nothing compared to the ones on her mind, soul, and heart." the youngest told Assi, her voice soft and her demeanor sad.

"She was a bright star, that one." the oldest said in regret.

"But she no longer shone in the end." the middle one sighed.

"Jenazi set her price," the middle one continued.

"And you must be the one to claim it." the oldest finished.

Assi looked over the lake, while she tried to fight back the old emotions that always arose when she thought of her mother. _She no longer shone in the end_. The middle one had said. Assi clenched her fists. At this very moment she felt as if she would be able to kill Voldemort with her own hands for what he had stolen from her.

She prayed he'd get what he rightfully deserved.

"Will you claim it?" the youngest asked.

Assi looked at her in surprise. _Claim what?_

"Your mother's price." the oldest one told her, annoyance in her voice.

"What is it though? And why must I be the one to claim it?" Assi asked, shutting thoughts of Voldemort and her mother away. She needed to deal with them later. Now was not the time for her unruly emotions to run wild.

"A life, of course." the youngest told her as if she were daft.

"But who's?" Assi asked impatiently.

"Mind your manners," snapped the oldest. "Just because we find value in the Shadow Line does not mean we are your equals."

"And you should remember your real age," the middle old scolded the youngest who hung her head.

"I'm sorry," Assi replied, sufficiently chastised. She gave them a small bow. You didn't want to anger the one's who had power over death.

The oldest nodded.

"Her price is Sirius Black." the middle one told Assi, acting as if they had never left the original subject.

Assi blinked at that. Sirius Black? Why would her mother give her life for his? She'd met Sirius once and he'd told her he'd known her mother in school, but that they hadn't been very close. Could he have been lying? Had there been something between them?

"Jenazi did not choose him." the middle one answered Assi's unasked questions, but only succeeding in confusing her.

"We did." the oldest one told Assi.

"Will you claim him?" the youngest asked before Assi could ask anything.

Assi began playing with a strand of her hair. She'd come to the Fate's to undo a wrongful death. Wasn't this the same? Sirius Black had spent most of his life locked away for a crime he didn't commit and then murdered unjustly before his name could even be cleared.

He deserved a second chance as much as anyone else did.

"I'll claim him." Assi told them firmly. He deserved a second chance and she would do whatever she could to give it to him.

The oldest nodded and said, "We will send you to when he was 17. Before horror assaulted his life and left scars upon his soul."

"You will be enrolled at Hogwarts under a different name." the middle one said.

"We will make sure that your appearance does not attract attention from those that knew your father or know your mother." the oldest informed her.

"You can not try to change the past." the middle one said.

"You can tell no one, other than Sirius Black, the truth." the youngest told her.

"He must trust you enough to leave his world behind for an unknown life." the middle one told her.

"You cannot coerce, trick, bribe, curse, or lie to get his consent." the youngest announced.

"You can _not_ save anyone other than Sirius." the oldest told her sternly, her black eyes piercing.

Assi nodded.

"You will leave in September and you will not return until April. At that time, Sirius Black is to make his final decision." the oldest said.

"When you leave, no one will remember you and there will be no evidence you were ever there. And when you return, the same amount of time will have passed in the present that you spent in the past." the middle one added.

"Is everything understood?" the youngest asked.

Assi twirled a curl around her finger. She couldn't make this decision without first talking to Leli.

The Fates nodded as one. "Your choice must be made before September dawns."

As one, the Fates disappeared in a cloud of silver mist.


	3. Chapter 2: The New Now

**Chapter Two: September 1, 1977: The New Now**

Assi closed her eyes and dizzily leaned against the stone pillar behind her.

The Fates had given her no warning.

One minute she had been talking to Leli about the Phoenix View refugees and the next she was standing in King's Cross before the stone pillar that would take her through to Platform 9 ¾, a ticket in her hand and her belongings in a cart beside her.

Couldn't they have given her a warning? Anything would have sufficed. Her vision could have first gone blurry, or she could have had the same feeling she experienced during apparating.

Merlin, even a whistle would've helped!

Assi slowly opened her eyes.

She looked at the pillar.

Could she really do this?

Then again, did she have a choice?

She sighed and took a running start to the entrance, pushing her cart before her.

When she was thorough and was standing before the bright red Hogwarts Express, she paused. There were so many people. Were there always this many?

Assi's heart started to pound as she looked around.

Sure, she was used to new schools with new people, but she'd always had Leli by her side. She'd never really been alone.

How was she going to do this without her sister?

Assi took a deep breath and hurried to put her things away, refusing to let herself think too much.

She got onto the train and began looking for an empty compartment.

Luckily, it seemed that the Fates had brought her to the past early, since it didn't take her too long to find one near the middle of the train.

Assi sighed with relief as she sat down. She refused to let herself think of where, and when, she was and instead focused on how she would win over Sirius Black's trust.

Assi wrecked her brain, before realizing she had no idea how to do this. She'd never deliberately set out to make people trust her. Why would she have when she only expected them to turn their backs on her the moment they realized her true lineage? And how could you make someone trust you while lying to them nonstop? That didn't seem fair.

Assi started when she heard a melodic laugh come from the seat opposite her.

Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw a pale blond around her age sitting before her.

_When did she come in?_ Assi hadn't heard the compartment door open and she knew that it had been empty when she'd arrived.

"Did you really expect us to simply leave you in the past alone?" the blond asked with a smirk.

Assi frowned and studied the blond carefully. Her sleek hair was nearly white it was so pale, her fair skin was only a shade or two rosier than her hair, and she had eerily all-knowing and never-ending dark brown eyes.

"Fate?" Assi questioned, cautiously.

"At least you're not completely daft. There might just be hope for you yet." The youngest Fate told Assi as she settled down more comfortably into her seat.

"Why are you here?" Assi asked, curiously. She hadn't expected this at all.

"To make sure you don't try anything too foolish, of course. We sent you back in time twenty years. There will be endless opportunities for you to attempt to change the past and we want you focused on only a single goal: Sirius Black." Fate explained impatiently.

"Will you help me win his trust then?" Assi asked, preferring to ignore the rest of that sentence. She wasn't quite sure she wanted to think about everything that was now within her grasp to change.

"No." Fate told her simply. "And you cannot trick him into it either, remember? You must be yourself. If that doesn't win his trust then the choice has already been made."

Assi stared at Fate, unsurely. _Be herself?_ As simple as that sounded, it was the hardest thing for her to do. While she never hid who she was, the only place she felt comfortable truly being herself was in Sanctuary or Phoenix View. How was she going to be herself around people whom _she_ didn't even trust?

Fate shrugged as if Assi had spoken aloud. "If you want to succeed you don't have a choice. In order to really gain Black's trust he must know who you are. Since you will be staying for nearly a year, I suggest you treat him as you would any other stranger. If you become friends naturally there is a greater possibility of success then if you force it."

Assi began twirling a curl around her finger. Treat him as she would anyone else? She could do that. But what if she didn't like him? With anyone else, she'd avoid them or tell them straight out how she felt. She couldn't possibly do that this time.

"Sure you can." Fate announced, almost cheerily.

Assi looked at her in confusion, "Then how am I suppose to win his trust?"

Fate looked at Assi with her eerie dark eyes. "There's a reason you were given the opportunity to claim him, instead of your sister."

"Because I asked." Assi told her.

Fate shook her head, "He is _your's_ to claim, Assiel. Not your sister's. Not your mother's. Your's."

Assi looked at her in surprise. _What the hell did that mean?_

"While we are here, my name shall be Trivianna Kismet. I am a 7th year Ravenclaw and an old friend. You will be Sophia Blair and you will be a 7th year, although this will be your first at Hogwarts. You must be careful when revealing your past. Lie, if you must, but do so only rarely." Fate instructed Assi, for the first time ignoring her unasked question.

"How are you a Ravenclaw?" Assi asked, choosing to do as Fate had and change the subject.

Fate's eyes sparkled with mischievous humor. "Mortal minds are so very easily manipulated."

Assi couldn't help the laugh that escaped her, Fate just seemed so _smug _about it.

She stopped when a pretty redhead poked her head into the compartment.

"Hey, Trivianna. Do you two mind if we sit with you? All the other compartments are full." She asked with an apologetic smile.

"Of course not," Fate assured them and moved over so that there would be more room for them to sit.

Assi did the same and the redhead smiled in relief, opening the door wider. She sat down beside Fate and was followed by two other girls. The first, a tall brunette with honey brown eyes who sat next to the redhead and the last, a short light brown haired girl with wide green eyes, sat beside Assi.

The redhead studied Assi and Assi frowned. There was something familiar about her, but she wasn't sure what it could be.

The redhead extended her hand with a smile, "I'm Lily Evans, 7th year Gryffindor."

Assi's stiffed. Lily Evans. Harry's mom. She looked into Lily's eyes. They really were the same as Harry's emerald green.

Assi forced a smile and took Lily's offered hand, "Sophia Blair. New to Hogwarts."

Lily grinned. "Do you have any house in mind?"

Assi shrugged. "I'm actually hoping for Gryffindor."

The brunette beside Lily whooped. "My type of girl! Gryffindors are absolutely number one."

"Hey," Fate protested, "I'm a Ravenclaw."

The brunette leaned forward to look at Fate in surprise. "Course you are, Trivianna. But Ravenclaw is number two. Gryffindor is the best."

Fate scoffed, "Gryffindor will never be as good as Ravenclaw, Kenny, and you know it."

The brunette, Kenny, looked at Fate in disbelief. "For someone so brainy, you sure are in denial."

Fate opened her mouth to reply when Lily held up her hands. "Stop. Let's just agree that both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw are the best."

Kenny began to protest but was immediately silenced with a single look from Lily.

Lily turned back to Assi and rolled her eyes in an "they are so immature" way. "This is Kennedy Summers," she said, motioning to the brunette beside her.

"Call me Kenny," Kenny immediately replied with a smile.

"And that is Brianna Donahue," she motioned to the quiet girl beside Assi.

"So you want to be a Gryffindor?" Kenny asked, apparently eager to get back into the subject.

Assi nodded. "My dad was in Gryffindor when he went to Hogwarts and he always loved it there." So much so, in fact, that he became a teacher there and eventually became the Headmaster.

"Then why are you barely going to Hogwarts this year? You don't look like a first year." Brianna asked, her green eyes questioning.

Assi shrugged. "We moved around a lot. And this is actually my seventh year."

"Do you like Quidditch?" Kenny suddenly asked.

Assi saw Brianna roll her eyes and Lily sigh. She nodded, unsure where this was going.

"Perfect!" Kenny exclaimed. "I'll finally have a fun roommate!"

Kenny leaned forward and mock whispered, "These two can't even tell the difference between a Quaffle and a Bludger."

Assi leaned forward slightly. "Neither can she," she whispered conspiratorially, motioning to Fate.

Fate simply shrugged.

Kenny looked at her in shock. "How can you not know! Even these two bookworms know!" she yelled, gesturing to Lily and Brianna.

"Hey!" Lily and Brianna exclaimed together.

"I don't much care for it," Fate replied evenly.

Kenny's jaw dropped in absolute disbelief.

Lily laughed and Brianna chuckled.

Assi tried but failed to maintain her laughter.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

Fate looked over at Assi and gave her a faint smile.

* * *

><p>Sirius grinned as James and Remus left the compartment to go to the Prefect's meeting.<p>

James was Head Boy!

Oh, Sirius wished he could be there when Lily found out. He knew it was going to be a priceless moment.

Instead, Sirius was stuck in their compartment with Peter and little entertainment.

Sirius looked across at Peter. He was looking out the window, his watery blue eyes hidden behind his long and messy brown hair.

"Let's go see how Kenny is doing." Sirius said standing up and leaving the compartment, knowing the talkative brunette could entertain him for at least a couple of hours.

"I thought she didn't like you?" Peter asked, jogging behind Sirius in an attempt to keep pace with Sirius's long strides.

Sirius turned to Peter without stopping and scoffed. "That ridiculous, Wormtail. Kenny loves me!"

Peter looked at Sirius and said pointedly. "She always tells you get hit by a Bludger and leave her alone."

Sirius waved Peter's comment away, "That's just her way of showing affection. Kennedy adores me."

Peter made a noise of disbelief, which Sirius decided to act like he hadn't heard. True, she did make it a habit of threatening him and his friends but that was just because she was Lily's friend. On the Quidditch Pitch, they were the best of friends. Or, Sirius corrected himself truthfully, the best of acquaintances.

Sirius grinned as he glimpsed her in the next compartment. He'd show Peter how much she adored him.

"Kenny! My love!" Sirius shouted as he threw the door open.

"Go choke on a lemon, Black," Kenny said without looking at him. She then turned back to the other person in the compartment that Sirius hadn't noticed before.

He studied the other girl.

She had long black curls and long lashed violet blue eyes. And was currently ignoring him, talking to Kenny about Quidditch.

Sirius sat himself close beside her. She turned towards him curiously, a spark of recognition in her eyes.

Sirius looked at her curiously. She was very attractive and he knew he'd remember her if he'd seen her. At least, he thought he would. But while she seemed to recognize him, he had no idea who she was.

"What's your name?" Sirius asked, maybe she had changed over the summer and that was why he didn't remember her. How on earth would he have been able to forget her eyes though?

"Sophia Blair," she replied with a small smile.

Nope, didn't ring any bells. Damn. "What house are you in?" he tried again.

"None," Kenny replied before she could, "Sophia's new to Hogwarts."

Sirius looked at Sophia in surprise. Then how did she recognize him? Who knew. He thought to himself, letting the thought go.

He grinned at her and saw a brief spark of surprise in her violet eyes. "I'm Sirius. Sirius Black." he introduced himself, "I'm in Gryffindor with Kenny."

"And that's Peter Pettigrew. Better known as Wormtail," he said, motioning with his head towards Peter who had decided to sit beside Kenny.

Sophia nodded in greeting.

"So, Sophia, what do you think about the Irish?" Kenny asked, ignoring Sirius and Peter.

Sirius looked at Sophia while she thought. So she liked Quidditch. A worthy quality in any individual. "Not bad. They tend to pick good players overall. But they aren't my favorite." she finally told Kenny.

Kenny frowned, "Who could possibly better than the Irish?"

Sophia replied which caused Kenny to begin an argument in order to defend her favorite team.

Sirius laughed at a particularly awful point and decided to join the argument. The Transylvanian Team would always be the best and he particularly enjoyed proving his point to Kenny and the surprisingly stubborn Sophia.

When they were informed they were almost to Hogwarts, Sirius and Peter decided to head back to their compartment and change.

"You'll be a Gryffindor for sure," Sirius told Sophia with a wink.

Sophia grinned and laughed before closing the door and pulling down the blinds.

"Do you really think she'll be in Gryffindor?" Peter asked when they were back in their compartment changing clothes.

Sirius paused in putting on his robes. "Yeah. She belongs in Gryffindor."

"What makes you think that?" Peter asked, leaning down to tie his shoes.

Sirius shrugged, "You can just tell."

"Oh." was Peter's only reply.

At least, Sirius hoped she would be. She was interesting and he wouldn't mind getting to know her.

* * *

><p>"It seems like Black took a liking to you." Kenny said when they had finished changing and were waiting for the train to stop in Hogsmeade.<p>

Assi looked at Kenny with a grin. "It wasn't me he called 'my love'."

Kenny scowled. "He just did it to annoy me."

Assi raised an eyebrow.

Kenny rolled her eyes. "Trust me, Black loves me as much as he does every other female at school. We're all pleasant pastimes but nothing more. His entire world revolves around the Marauders. Quidditch coming in a close third, after pranking. Girls are at the bottom of his list and none has ever been able to hold his attention for very long." Kenny warned Assi.

"Doesn't he have any friends that are girls?" Assi asked, worriedly.

Kenny shrugged. "I suppose I count as a female friend. So do Lily and Brianna. Other than us? I don't think so."

Assi began playing with one of her curls. This might be harder than she had originally thought.

When she'd seen him she'd been shocked at the sight of his teenage self but in a good way. When she'd met older Sirius, he'd been gaunt, pale, with dull black hair and haunted eyes. His younger self, on the other hand, was lean in a healthy athletic type of way with a ready smile and mischievous silver eyes that had immediately entranced Assi.

Assi scowled at herself.

She was wasn't looking for romance.

She was more than willing to become his friend. But more? No. Even if she'd met him in her time. Relationships and her didn't mix. And that was that.


	4. Chapter 3: Never Ending Work

**Chapter Three: October 1997: Never Ending Work**

Leli relaxed in her chair for a moment as Irek apparated away.

She smiled. So far, everything was fine.

She held these weekly meetings with the various elves who's loyalties lay with Sanctuary in order to be kept aware of what was happening in the world around her.

She had no idea how she would've been able to run Sanctuary without the elves' help. They were really an underappreciated race and she was glad her ancestors had realized their potential. While every elf in Sanctuary was a free elf, every one of them had made an Unbreakable Vow never to knowingly endanger Sanctuary or the Shadow Line.

Therefore, the elves of Sanctuary were actually more like employees with a variety of different jobs depending on what they were best at and preferred.

For example, Mica and Dee were the head house-elves while Pace, Wimble, and Rachis were the heads of security for both Sanctuary and Phoenix View. Amyl and Gabbler were excellent judges of character as well as being very detail oriented so they were the primary escorts into Sanctuary and Phoenix View. And Chessel, who had swift feet and an even quicker mind, was used as a messenger and was able to help out wherever she was needed. Other elves, like Corelli and Terrine were excellent spies who could easily become part of the routine of any family or facility in order to know first hand what was happening. Then there were Rocco and Irek who, while also able to play chameleon, were knowledgeable in different offensive spells enough to be able to protect their charges at a moment's notice.

Leli went through a the numbers in her head and figured she had at least four dozen elves employed in one form or another. As ridiculous as that number sounded, she was actually surprised that so few accomplished so much. Though she was still grateful the most of the elves worked beneath another elf. She wasn't sure she had enough time in the day to meet with _all_ of them.

"Mistress Leliel," announced Gila as he suddenly appeared before Leli.

"Gila," Leli greeted with a nod and gestured for her to take a seat in the empty chair beside Leli's and the plate of pastries and tea on the meeting room's table.

Gila was one of the elves designating as "protector" and as such was dressed in the usual sack worn by enslaved house-elves in order to be close to her charge without attracting attention.

The little elf took the seat with a weary little smile and poured herself a cup of steaming tea.

Leli hated it that some of these elves went undercover in horrible households with sadistic masters. But she knew there wasn't any real choice, still she made sure all the elves knew they could abandon their post if things became too much for them to handle.

Gila, she knew, was placed in one of the most terrible households and she admired the elf's resilience and strength.

Especially since Gila's charge was important to Leli.

"He is safe from harm," Gila told Leli, putting her teacup down.

Leli sighed in relief glad that he was safe but hoping, nonetheless that she could see him. Even just for a moment.

She still loved Draco.

While she hadn't completely forgiven him for lying, she knew that was all he was guilty of since she'd spoken to Harry before she left. He'd been lowering his wand.

To Leli, that was all that mattered.

"Thank you for taking care of him, Gila." Leli told her with a smile.

Gila accepted her smile with a small nod and then simply looked down at the table for a while, thinking.

"Master Draco visits Diagon Alley every couple of months to see how things are changing in the wizarding world. He always goes alone." she said after a while.

Leli straightened in her seat at the information.

"When-?"

"November," Gila interrupted Leli's question.

Leli smiled.

* * *

><p>"Mistress," Leli looked up from trying to create a gap in her schedule to see Dee standing in front of the closed meeting room doors. "Quinn and Melisande are both here to see you."<p>

Leli sighed and rubbed her temples, getting a headache just imagining the dozens of possible reasons for them to visit. Quinn the Centaur and Melisande the Harpy were the representatives of Shadow Tree and Dragon Peak respectively, since it was impossible for Assi and Leli to be everywhere at once. They'd been lucky that both Quinn and Melisande were well respected and good leaders, making the general running of Sanctuary a very smooth process.

Or at least it had been until new arrivals began to come in hordes. They tended to cause mayhem since they were still unaware of the way things worked and they naturally unsettled the current residents.

Leli had known that would happen and had warned both Quinn and Melisande so that they would be prepared. She'd thought they had been.

But they only came to her when there was something they couldn't handle on their own. Being here together, meant that there was big trouble throughout Sanctuary.

She sighed, stood up, and motioned for Dee to let them in.

Couldn't she get a break?

Just one little break.

There was only so much one individual could handle at a time and Leli had passed her limit three days ago.

"My lady," Quinn greeted with a flourished bow of his upper body as he came in.

Leli smiled and nodded in greeting. She liked Quinn's overstated sense of courtesy. It always made her smile.

Melisande entered after Quinn, her large hawk-like wings folded neatly at her back so that except for her orange eyes and her sharply pointed ears, she appeared no different then any other female with long copper hair.

"Lady Leliel," Melisande spoke in her screechy voice and inclined her head while outstretching her arms towards her so that her wrists were vulnerable. Leli repeated Melisande's actions before taking her seat once more.

The Harpies considered the diamond-hard talons that grew in place of their fingernails to be their greatest weapon, so to offer their wrists was a great show of trust and respect since an enemy need only reach over and slice their entire hands off.

Or at least that was their beliefs.

Personally, Leli had no idea how anyone would be fast enough to manage it or stupid enough to risk the Harpies' wrath. Because even if one succeeded in cutting off the Harpy's talons, the remaining Harpies would avenge their sister and while there were only a few left in existence, that didn't make them less dangerous.

They could be vicious and unmerciful once their rage took control. Sadly, the Harpies of old had let their emotions control them more often than not which had led the wizards and witches to believe that the only way they could be stopped was to eradicate the entire race.

According to her many greats-grandmother, a group of Harpies had sought Sanctuary, swearing a blood oath that they and their descendents would gain better control of themselves and respect the laws and lives of Sanctuary.

Leli was grateful that they had kept their word and that, while they still honed their fighting skills, it was only against one another and only as a way to honor their past.

"Where is Lady Assiel?" Melisande asked straight out.

Leli had always appreciated her bluntness but her question had caught her completely by surprise and she had to blink a few times before fully processing the question.

"Why do wish to know?" Leli asked instead. She knew she couldn't tell them where Assi really was, but she hadn't even had time to figure out what she'd say when everyone started asking. She'd honestly thought she'd have more time. After all, Assi only been gone only a little more than a month. Why were they asking so soon?

"Her very essence is missing from Sanctuary." Quinn told Leli, his sure voice as calm as always but with a slight worried undertone that surprised her.

She kept her expression neutral, hiding her confusion. "My sister is safe. The journey she has embarked upon is necessary but not lethal." At least she prayed it wasn't.

Quinn shared a glance with Melisande that Leli didn't completely understand but she knew it couldn't be good.

Melisande licked her lips nervously.

Leli couldn't help the frown that rose to her lips. Melisande was at least twice her age and Leli had never, _never_, seen her display any trace of nervousness.

"What is it?" she demanded, her voice harsher than she had ever used it before.

While she _knew_ Assi was safe, deep down she couldn't help but worry about her little sister.

Yes, it was foolish of her to worry after only a single month, but she couldn't help it. Assi was her baby sister and the only family she had left.

Worrying was natural. She knew that. But Melisande and Quinn's attitudes were turning her healthy worry into overwhelming panic.

"Well?" she asked when neither Quinn or Melisande spoke up.

"The only time we've ever felt one of the Keeper's essence fade is…" Quinn began but couldn't seem to finish his sentence. He looked over at Melisande pleadingly.

"At death." the Harpy finished.

Leli opened her mouth but words wouldn't come.

_At death?_

Leli shut her eyes and took a deep breath.

No, Leli was sure Assi was fine.

Her essence was gone from Sanctuary only because Assi was in a different time. That was it. Assi was alright.

She had to be.

"Assi is perfectly fine," she told the both of them, opening her eyes to look at them.

"I can't tell you where she is or why she's gone but I give you my word, she is safe and breathing." She might as well be honest with them. There was nothing else she could really say that would be believable.

Eventually, Melisande nodded, believing Leli.

"Can you tell us when she will return?" Quinn asked, doubt still in his voice but Leli could see that he trusted her enough to accept her word.

"April," Leli told them, since knowing when they would return would make them both feel easier.

Quinn sighed in relief and Melisande visibly relaxed.

Leli just hoped she was right.


	5. Chapter 4: The Clown and His Accomplice

**Thank you to fireisprettybeafraid and SoccerGirl4Life30 for reviewing. Also, thanks to everyone who alerted and favorited this story. It made my day! :)**

**And as for everyone else, I am not above bribing for reviews, so review and I'll post the next chapter by Saturday! So please review! D**

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><p><strong>Chapter Four: October 1977: The Clown and His Accomplice<strong>

Assi felt like screaming. Like tearing out her hair and just screaming out her frustration.

Being here was absolutely nerve-racking. She had to check her every word, making sure she didn't say something or use a spell that didn't exist in this time. She had to act like she didn't even know what was going on in the world around her. She had to act like she didn't know what would happen. Even though Fate, with her eerie eyes, was usually nearby to remind her of where and when she was and what she couldn't do, it just put her more on edge rather than calm her.

On top of it, Assi liked Sirius, she really did. He was surprisingly good-humored with a ready grin, excellent company, and could always make her laugh. He was brilliant when it came to playing Quidditch and he was actually quite intelligent when he tried, most times even when he didn't.

The problem was that there were times he could annoy her to the point of madness.

Like now.

Sirius poked her side again with his wand. "What did he just say?"

"Why don't you just pay attention and you won't need to keep asking me?" Assi hissed through clenched teeth.

Sirius shrugged and gave her a grin, "Binns bores me. You don't."

She'd gladly be as boring as Binns if it meant she wouldn't have a permanent bruise on her side and a headache that would put any migraine to shame. The Fates had apparently arranged it so that she and Sirius had all of the same classes and break times, and Sirius had taken it upon himself to be her "classroom buddy" and sit next to her in _every_ single class. That meant that when he was bored, which seemed to be always, she was his primary source of entertainment.

She didn't really mind most of the time since she was also usually bored and he _was_ the reason she was here. But today was different. Today Sirius seemed to be in extra need of entertainment. Meaning he hadn't let her out of his sight for more than a moment and when they were in class he would poke her side with his wind and ask her something ridiculous, like what type of hat she'd think McGonagall would wear the next day or if she thought that if Flitwick mused his hair a bit he'd grow another inch or two. She'd answer and he'd be satisfied.

For a second.

Then he'd poke her again and ask her something else. Assi figured he'd eventually run out of questions. And she had a strong belief that he finally had since, for the last half hour he'd basically been asking her to recite Binns' lecture verbatim.

Well, she'd had enough of him.

Assi turned in her seat and gave him her most charming smile. She leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "If you keep annoying me I swear to you, Sirius Black, I will castrate you with nothing more than a spoon."

She sat back and asked him as sweetly as she could, "Is that understood?"

Sirius was quiet, looking at her with wide eyes.

Assi turned back to fake-listen to Binns, her headache thanking her profusely.

Then Sirius burst out laughing.

Assi turned and scowled at him as he continued to laugh like a raving lunatic.

He was so loud that everyone in the class, even Binns, turned to look at him.

"Sorry- Professor- Just thought of- something- funny." Sirius told Binns in between chuckles.

Binns simply nodded and returned to his lecture while Sirius attempted to control his laughter.

James, who was sitting on Sirius's other side gave him a questioning look that Sirius simply waved off.

Assi ground her teeth. She surreptitiously pulled out her wand, pointed it at him and muttered a couple of spells under her breath. This boy needed a lesson in manners.

Assi hid her grin and kept her eyes on Binns as she waited for someone to notice.

This time it was James who burst out laughing when he turned towards Sirius and saw what Assi had done to him.

While Sirius looked at James in confusion, Assi admired her handiwork, unable to contain her laughter.

Sirius's black hair was now frilly, frizzy, and fuchsia. And his face was now painted white like a muggle clown's with a large green grin, painted blue lashes, orange-rimmed eyes and a round red nose.

As everyone in the class turned their attention towards Sirius and began laughing, Sirius still looked at all of them, perplexed.

Until Lily, who was also enjoying a laugh even though she was sitting beside James, handed him a mirror.

Sirius stared at himself in shock.

He even tried pulling on his pink hair and wiping off the makeup, but Assi had made sure he wouldn't be able to take any of it off without the right counterspell.

"Mr. Black?" Binns asked, his monotone voice raising in surprise as he saw Sirius for the first time.

"May I go to the Hospital Wing?" Sirius asked, as calmly as he could.

Binns nodded, still blinking as he stared at him.

Sirius grabbed his things then grabbed a chuckling Assi's hand and dragged her out of class before she even had a chance to object.

"Hey!" Assi protested as he dragged her towards their common room, which was most likely empty since most students had class during Thursday afternoons. However, there were still students in the halls on their way, and Assi was glad she could share a little of her much needed joy with the rest of the school.

As they neared the common room Assi started to grow a little worry, unsure how mad she'd made Sirius and wanting to see his face in order to judge his mood. But since Sirius was pulling her along, she wasn't able to see his expression. She was still fully prepared to defend herself against anything he had to say, Assi assured herself.

Sirius paused only long enough to say the password and drag Assi the rest of the way inside to the empty common room.

Then he turned on her. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared.

If it hadn't been for the clown makeup, Assi was sure she'd feel intimidated, but with it on her only response was to begin laughing again. He just looked so strange frowning with a painted on grin and glaring with large painted eyes.

Sirius simply waited until Assi's laughter was under control.

She wiped away her tears of laughter and gave Sirius a carefree grin.

Sirius chuckled and asked, with a wave to himself, "Can you change me back now?"

Assi thought for a moment before she shrugged. She pulled out her wand, murmured the counter spells and suddenly Sirius was back to his old self.

Sirius pulled out Lily's mirror, which he'd apparently kept, and sighed with relief when he saw his normal face looking back at him.

Assi sat down on the couch in front of the fireplace and said, "You deserved it."

"I know," Sirius replied with a grin as he sat beside her. "Nice one, by the way."

"That's not the only spell I know," she felt the need to warn him.

He nodded in understanding and leaned his head back, closing his eyes.

They just sat in comfortable silence for a while and Assi relaxed. She wondered if the reason he was so quiet for so long was because he'd literally talked himself mute.

One could only hope.

"You aren't a Sophia." he told her suddenly.

Good-bye quiet.

Assi sighed silently.

"What?" Assi asked him, unsure of where this was going.

"I don't think you're a Sophie either." He told her, only succeeding in confusing her all the more.

Assi looked at him. "What's the difference?"

Sirius frowned and turned to look at her. "I'm not sure, but I just don't think either name really fits you."

Assi tilted her head to the side, looking at him in confusion. Sure, she did feel fake whenever someone called her by her middle name but that was only because it just reminded her of why she was here and that this life was only a temporary stay. As real as it may be now, it wasn't and could never be permanent.

"So what name do you think _does_ fit me?" she asked, interested in his answer.

Sirius simply shrugged. "I haven't been able to figure something out, but I'll let you know when I do."

Assi chuckled and shook her head. "You really are an odd one, Black."

Sirius frowned. "When did I get back to Black?"

Assi glared. "When you laughed at me for threatening you."

He chuckled and she elbowed his side as hard as she could. His grunt of pain brought a smile to her lips.

"I laughed because I hadn't expected such a horrifying threat to come from a Sophia. Besides, you did get me back." he explained as he rubbed his side with a grimace.

Assi frowned. "But you did take me seriously?"

Sirius snorted. "I believed you'd really maim me if I didn't stop annoying you. I just thought it was funny how you can appear so sweet one moment and the next threaten a man's very… well, his manhood."

Assi laughed at the uncomfortable look Sirius gave her. He really was quite adorable sometimes.

Sirius gave her a sheepish grin before standing up. He held his hand out for her to take.

She looked at him in confusion.

"Lunch." Sirius told her, waving his outstretched hand.

"Oh," Assi took his hand and he led her towards the Great Hall.

As they neared the doors, Assi felt her breath get short and her heart begun to pound at an alarming rate. Whenever she went into the Great Hall, her dad was there. Alive and breathing. He was there, not more than a few steps away from her but she couldn't do anything about it. She couldn't talk to him. She couldn't warn him of what would happen. She couldn't tell him how much she missed him.

Because, in this time, she didn't even exist yet.

When she'd been sorted she'd had to fight away the tears that continuously threatened her eyes and it took every fiber of her being to keep a pleasant expression on her face.

At first she'd thought it'd fade after a while, but it never did.

She missed him so much and to see him there, in front of her only to know that he'd died not so long ago reminded her how most of the people she had befriended and met faced the same fate. She remembered how brokenhearted Harry sounded when he talked about his parents. It reminded her of all the names she had read in the paper. Names that she was now able to match with countless faces.

When she didn't see or think about her dad she let herself forget. She let herself simply live in the moment and enjoy the people around her. Maybe it would be best if she stopped going to the Great Hall. She'd done it in order to avoid suspicion, but she wasn't sure how much longer she could _keep_ doing it.

"Sophia?" Sirius asked, his voice laced with concern.

Assi tore her gaze from the Great Hall's doors to look at him. She realized for the first time that he still held her hand and that she'd been digging her nails into his skin.

She quickly let go and muttered an apology, before continuing towards the doors to the Great Hall.

She just needed to keep her gaze away from the front and she'd be fine, Assi assured herself.

But, as always, she couldn't help but feel as if she were heading towards her doom.

* * *

><p>Sirius frowned as he watched Sophia enter the Great Hall.<p>

What had that been about?

He rubbed his hand, feeling the slight indentations where her nails had dug into his skin. One moment she'd been perfectly fine, the next she'd almost made him bleed.

"Padfoot!" James shouted as he bumped his shoulder.

Sirius rubbed his ear and began walking into the Great Hall. "Was shouting really necessary, Prongs?" he asked James.

James laughed as he followed Sirius. "So Madam Pomphry fixed the clown look?"

Sirius spotted Sophia sitting with Lily. He changed his route and began walking towards them.

"Sophia did, actually." Sirius told James with a grin.

James quickened his pace when he realized where they were headed.

He frowned at Sirius, "How did she know how to fix it?"

Sirius gave him a look and James chuckled and shook his head.

"What did he do?" James asked Sophia as they sat down beside the girls.

Sophia looked at James distractedly. "Hmm?"

"What did Padfoot do to get turned into a clown?" James asked with a grin towards Sirius.

"You did that?" Lily asked her in surprise.

Sophia nodded in pride and told them that he'd been annoying her all day, and she'd finally had enough.

"Remind me never to annoy you," James said, shaking his head.

Remus soon arrived and took the seat in front of James's while Peter sat in front of Lily.

"You're less colorful, I see." Remus greeted Sirius.

James grinned and happily relayed that it was Sophia who had done it and why.

While Remus laughed, Peter asked her what other spells she knew but she refused to say.

Sirius studied Sophia as he began to eat, wondering how her moods could change so rapidly.

"No, Potter." Lily said, causing Sirius to look at her.

"Come on, Evans. Hogsmeade is just around the corner," James tried to entice her.

"No," Lily said stubbornly. "I've already told you no and I'm not going to change my mind so you might as well forget it."

Sirius shook his head as the two continued their argument. Same old James and Lily. Even after seven years, nothing had really changed between them. He knew they'd end up together. There was no doubt in his mind. James liked Lily too much and, regardless of what Lily said, she liked him too. They just needed one good date and then they'd be inseparable.

But how to speed things along?

He looked at Sophia who was watching the two with amusement in her eyes.

He leaned over slightly and whispered so that only she could hear. "Wanna play a game?"

Sophia looked at him and raised a brow in curiosity.

Sirius just grinned and motioned to James and Lily with his eyes.

"Time to get them together," he whispered

Sophia grinned and nodded.

"Common room," she told him before getting up, making her excuses to everyone and leaving the Great Hall.

Sirius quickly got up and ran after her.

He couldn't wait to get started.


	6. Chapter 5: Magical Chocolate

**Reviews inspire me ;)**

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><p><strong>Chapter Five: November 1977: Magical Chocolate and Plans in Progress<strong>

Assi stretched out her aching muscles. She had to honestly say that she like Harry better as a captain than James. James was absolutely brutal. While practice may only be a couple of hours, his training methods made all her muscles feel as if they'd been training for a week nonstop. The worst thing was, they hurt as much now as they had after their first practice. James had decided to make every practice just a little bit more intense than the last so that it was literally impossible for their bodies to get used to it. Even Kenny complained about the practices.

Now, _that_ was saying something.

The only thing that had postponed the rebellion against James was the fact that they had _demolished_ Slytherin during their Quidditch Match last week.

But it was only a matter of time before the team's limits were reached and a mutiny took place.

Assi and Kenny began walking towards the common room after changing out of their uniforms. They reached the first of many staircases, looked up, and groaned.

"Why do we have to live in a Tower? Why couldn't it be a dungeon or something at ground level?" Kenny complained, still looking up.

At any other time Assi would have laughed at Kenny's pitiful expression, but since she felt the same, all she could do was look up with the same expression and whimper her agreement.

This was like an extra punishment to the torturous practice. Climbing all those steps.

But, like with Quidditch, they ground their teeth, glued their eyes to the steps, and started up, praying the end result would be worth all the pain.

"Sophia," Assi stopped as she heard someone call her from above. She looked up and saw Fate standing only a few steps up.

"Trivianna," Assi greeted. Kenny saw Fate but only grunted her hello, unwilling to stop for even a moment before she reached her bed and crashed.

"Follow me," Fate told her, walking back down the stairs.

Assi sighed and looked up longingly. She just wanted to rest on a soft cushiony surface. Was that really too much to ask?

So it would seem.

She turned around and trudged after Fate.

Assi followed her for what felt like forever before she finally stopped before a wall.

She looked around in confusion, then realized where they were when a door suddenly appeared from within the stone.

"Why are we at the Room of Requirement?" Assi asked Fate as she followed her inside.

For Fate, the Room had transformed itself into a sort of lab, like the type Assi had at home. There were innumerable books, herbs, spices, metals, liquids and all different sorts of things lined up in glass containers on shelves around the room. Any other time, Assi would have been enthralled by the sight but what she gravitated towards now was a randomly placed but very comfortable looking couch against the opposite wall.

She sank her exhausted body into the plush red cushion gratefully and then turned her attention to Fate.

There seemed to be a laughing glint in her eyes that created an intriguing juxtaposition to the serious and all-knowing Fate Assi knew. "In this room you are free to be yourself. You will not have to watch what you say or what you do. You can create remedies for your pain and, if you wish, you may even share it with your teammates. But only as long as they are not aware that they are being given a potion. Same with anything else. As long as no one is aware of your helping their ailments, you are free to practice your craft."

Assi grinned. She couldn't name how many times her fingers had itched to create a drought when someone nearby was sick or in pain or how many times she had gripped her wand, wanting to weave a healing spell over a wound or broken bone. Now, as long as she was careful, she could finally do what she loved.

She got up to look at all the herbs, feeling rejuvenated at all the possibilities.

Assi's eye caught on a particular yellow flower. That simple little flower had the power to be a poison… Or a cure.

She turned back towards Fate.

Fate shook her head. "No. Wolfsbane has yet to be invented and the side effects are too noticeable. You may help Lupin by lessening his symptoms after his transformation but you _cannot_ give him or anyone any potion who's results are so drastic. Understood?"

Assi nodded reluctantly. Any help was better than none, she supposed.

She walked towards one of the shelves and smiled at the red rose contained within a glass.

"How did Lily and James get together?" Assi asked Fate while she examined the rose.

"I can't tell you."

Assi frowned. "Why not, if it's already happened?"

She laughed in reply and began walking towards the door. "Because it would ruin the fun you will have with Black figuring it out."

Assi looked at where Fate had been and shook her head in wonder.

She'd known Fate for a nearly three months, but this seemed to be the first time she saw her as more human than a deity. As more "Trivianna" then "the youngest Fate."

Odd.

Assi flinched as she felt her muscles begin to throb.

She took out a caldron and began preparing a simple muscle soothing potion. As Scarlett O'Hara liked to say; _I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow_

* * *

><p>"I hate you, Prongs." Sirius told his former best friend as he dropped himself, face first, on the couch, unwilling to go through even more stairs in order to reach his bed.<p>

James dropped himself into the armchair with a groan. "I hate me, too, Padfoot."

"So I'm guessing practice went well?" Remus asked with a laugh, leaning against the couch.

"Shut up, Moony." Sirius grumbled into the cushions, already half asleep.

"Where's Wormtail?" James asked, also unwilling to answer Remus's smart aleck comment.

"In class. He has Muggle Studies before lunch." Remus told them, grabbing a chair and pulling it towards the fireplace so he had a place to sit down.

"Oh yeah. I always forget what classes he's taking." James said, his voice sounding drowsy.

"That's because he can't find a class he really likes so he's always changing them." Remus pointed out.

"That's not true, Moony." Sirius said, raising a weak hand in protest, "He loves Transfiguration and double DA."

"True, but Wormtail is really only good at Defense Against the Dark Arts. He barely made it past Transfiguration last year." He heard Remus turn the page of something. Probably another book.

Sirius heard James murmur something but he couldn't make it out before his conscious went black.

The next thing Sirius knew he was hearing Sophia's laugh.

It had to be Sophia's. He wasn't sure how he knew, he just did.

_She has a nice laugh. Sweet and addictive._

He smiled to himself. He could hear her laugh all day.

Then he heard a masculine voice.

He frowned. He knew that voice.

_Moony?_

He heard more laughter. This time both Sophia's and Remus's.

What was Sophia doing in their dorm? And what was she laughing about with Remus?

Sirius opened one eye.

He frowned and opened the other eye.

Why was there a red wall in front of him?

Sirius lifted a hand to touch it and groaned in pain.

Now he remembered. He'd fallen asleep on the couch.

His entire body ached as he forced himself to sit up.

He turned his head and saw Sophia and Remus playing cards over by the table.

Sirius looked at James, who was still passed out stretched out on the armchair

Sirius frowned. Something wasn't right with this picture.

He turned back to Sophia who was looking comfortable, her messy curls pulled back in a ponytail and her violet eyes wide awake.

"How come you're not in pain, Sophia?" Sirius asked, enviously.

She looked over at him and grinned.

"Chocolate always revitalizes me."

Sirius's frown grew. "Chocolate?"

Sophia nodded and, taking her cards so Remus wouldn't cheat, walked over to Sirius.

She gave him a small square of chocolate before hurrying back to Remus and their game.

Sirius looked at the small square. Then he looked back at Sophia.

He shrugged. What was the harm?

He popped the chocolate into his mouth.

Sirius moaned in delight. It tasted wonderful and he could already feel his muscles begin to relax.

Now he understood the female obsession with chocolate. It was truly a godsend.

He leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes, a faint smile on his lips.

He opened his eyes when he heard James groan.

"I'm sorry guys." He told Sophia and Sirius, wincing in pain as he stood up, "I didn't realize how hard I made practice. I'll take it down next time. Promise."

James started walking stiffly towards the dormitory's stairs.

"James?" Sophia stopped him before he reached the stairs. "Want some chocolate? It'll make you feel better."

He shrugged and Sophia gave him another square, identical to the one she'd given Sirius.

James took a bite and immediately sighed with relief, no doubt feeling the same way Sirius had.

Sirius grinned and shook his head.

He turned towards Sophia who had a very self-satisfied smile on her face.

"Does chocolate really help?" Remus asked, still watching James.

"Mmmhmm," Sophia said as she placed a card on the table. "You'd be surprised how medicinal chocolate can actually be."

"Really?" Remus asked in surprise, turning back to Sophia, "What else can it do?"

Sophia thought for a moment before replying, "It can help with magical side effects and it seems to have soothing qualities to it that are difficult to find elsewhere."

"How do you know?" James asked as he took a seat in an empty chair beside Remus. He looked at Remus's cards then looked at the cards on the table. He plucked one of the cards out of his hand and set it on top of the others.

Sophia frowned as she studied the cards. "My dad told me. Ah ha!" she set down a card and grinned in triumph. "I win!"

Remus glared at James and James just shrugged. "You should've been paying more attention."

Remus rolled his eyes and gathered the cards. He looked up at the clock and put them away. "We better head down to the Great Hall if we want to have time to eat before Potions."

Sirius got off the couch and stretched. He felt good. Thank Merlin for Sophia's magical chocolate.

He headed to the portrait hole after Remus and James. He looked back and frowned when he saw Sophia heading towards the stairs instead of going with them.

"Sophia?" He asked, unsure of where she was going.

She turned around and waved him off. "Go ahead, I just want to make sure the rest of the team is ok. I'll be down soon though."

Sirius nodded then turned back towards the portrait hole and followed his friends out.

He caught up with them as they began walking down the stairs.

"Where's Sophia?" James asked when he noticed Sirius was alone.

"She went to revive the rest of the team," Sirius replied, giving James a look.

James winced and gave him a sheepish grin. "Don't worry. I meant it when I said I would take it easier from now on."

"You better," Sirius told James with a smirk, "or else there'll be a revolution. And I'll be crowned captain."

James laughed and shook his head.

They reached the Great Hall and sat with Peter, who was working on some homework from Muggle Studies.

"How was class?" Sirius asked as he took a bite of food.

Peter scowled and began complaining about how Professor Burbage seemed to idolize muggles and tended to praise them to the heavens.

Sirius shrugged. "It is her job, Wormtail. You should cut her some slack."

Peter muttered grumpily and turned his attention back to his homework.

"I'm going to kill you, Potter." Kenny growled as she sank into her seat beside Remus.

"She's been saying that since I woke her up for class." Brianna informed them, taking her seat beside James. "I think she might actually be beginning to mean it."

"Oh, I mean it!" Kenny assured them. "As soon as I'm able to move, I _am_ going to kill you, James Potter."

James opened his mouth to make some sort of reply when Lily appeared. As always, James eyes glued to her and he forgot everything and everyone else in the world.

Sirius shook his head. He and Sophia really needed to get them together soon.

He looked around and saw Sophia walking behind Lily.

Just the girl he was thinking about.

Sophia looked back at him and grinned, holding up two fingers discretely and winking.

Sirius grinned. Brilliant!

Phase Two of their plan was a go.

He looked over at Lily and noticed how she greeted James pleasantly rather than asking Kenny and Brianna to move so she wouldn't have to sit near him. After a pause, she even took the seat beside James when he moved over for her to sit down.

Sirius looked over at Sophia in surprise as she sat down beside him.

_Later,_ she mouthed.

He nodded and turned back to look at a calm Lily and ecstatic James.

Phase One had been to get Lily to acknowledge that James had matured. Phase Two was to get Lily to kiss James. Easier said than done and Sirius was still wondering what Sophia had said to get her to agree to either Phase.

"Oh, Kenny," Sophia said, and held out another square of chocolate. "Here. Eat this."

Kenny looked at Sophia as if she were mad but took the chocolate anyway and ate it.

Judging by her blissful expression, Sirius assumed it was working.

Sirius chuckled and turned back to Sophia, "Did you find everyone else?"

Sophia nodded as she began to eat. "Kenny was the last one."

The moment she finished, Sirius took her hand and dragged her out, telling the others she'd see them in class.

When they were outside she pulled her hand out of his and stopped.

Sirius looked at her in confusion, "Why are you stopping?"

Sophia raised her eyebrows at him in obvious question.

"I wanna know how you convinced Lily." Sirius explained, before grabbing her hand again and pulling her in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. They stopped only when they reached the edge and knew that they could talk privately without being overheard.

"So, what happen?" Sirius asked once they were seated beside each other, their backs against a tree.

Sophia shrugged. "I just told her that James was actually quite mature when you get to know him. She, of course, disagreed. So I proposed a bet. If after one month of actually getting to know James she still thought of him as immature, I'd owe her a nonnegotiable favor. If she admitted he had actually grown up, mentally, during the summer, she'd owe me. The month was over and she lost."

Sirius waited for the rest of it. When Sophia remained silent he looked at her in disbelief. "That's it?"

Sophia nodded. "Lily is a very reasonable person. And you may not be aware, but Lily Evans is secretly a _very_ competitive person. The moment a bet was involved, she was trapped."

Sirius laughed and shook his head. "You amaze me, Blair."

Sophia leaned her head against the tree and smirked, "Why thank you, Black."

"So you asked her to kiss James as the nonnegotiable favor?"

Sophia nodded.

He studied her for a moment before grinning. "Cat."

Sophia looked around. "Where?"

He leaned his head back. "You. I've decided to test out nicknames for you."

Sirius heard Sophia chuckle. "And Cat was the best you could come up with?"

He closed his eyes and shrugged, "It was the first one that came to mind and I think it fits."

"How so?"

"Well, a cat, while cuddly and sweet can scratch you bloody with their lethal nails." And he could see her as a cat. A witch's cat. Pure black fur and violet eyes. Perfect.

Except he wasn't the biggest fan of cats. They were too stuck-up for his liking.

Sophia snorted. "What's your next nickname?"

"Curlicue?"

"Because of my curls?"

Sirius nodded.

She considered it for a moment. "Not very creative. Do you have any more?"

Sirius thought for a moment. "How bout Fifi?"

Sophia laughed. "I don't think so. Whenever I think of Fifi I picture an annoying little dog. What else?"

"Sparkles?" Sirius asked. He was still wondering about Fifi. It'd be a nice sort of irony that a dog had given her a dog's name for a nickname. He smirked to himself. He may have just found her the perfect nickname.

She paused then asked in confusion, "Why Sparkles?"

"You just seem to sparkle sometimes. Especially when you laugh." he replied distractedly. He did like the nickname Fifi but what if she turned him into a clown again for using it? Or something worse-

_Wait a minute._ What had he just said?

He stiffened when he realized what he'd just blurted out.

She was silent for a while and he held his breath, afraid to open his eyes. That'd been a stupid thing to say. She was his friend and even he, who had only ever had a handful of close female friends, knew there were invisible boundaries you should never cross if you expected the friendship to remain. And while he had often thought of simply tearing those boundaries down, even if only for one good afternoon locked in the broom closet, he was really beginning to like her as more than a "broom closet quickie". He liked her as a friend. As odd as that was. Crossing the boundaries would just complicate things and probably be the death of their friendship. He didn't want that.

"Who's that?" Sophia asked as she leaned away from the tree and squinted.

Sirius opened his eyes and followed her gaze to a small figure that was evidently a student judging by their robes. He squinted and exhaled in disgust when he recognized the greasy black hair of the lanky figure.

"Snape," he spat. "Apparently he decided to follow me instead of Prongs for the day."

"Snape." Sophia whispered. "Severus Snape?" she asked, her voice oddly emotionless.

"You've heard of him?" Sirius asked her in surprise.

"I have." she replied, her eyes still glued to where Snape was growing steadily larger.

"I have to go," she told him, standing up and hurrying towards the castle, making sure to walk around Snape.

Sirius frowned after her.

He looked back at Snape's approaching figure and back to her retreating one.

Did she like confusing him on purpose?


	7. Chapter 6: Diagon Alley

**Chapter Six: November 1997: Diagon Alley**

Leli waited in the dark alley, her black hood hiding her face from sight and allowing her to blend into the shadows around her.

She kept her gaze on the few people scurrying from place to place, afraid of being in the open for too long.

Leli couldn't believe how the once jovial and energetic atmosphere had crashed and become one of pure fear. How could the Death Eaters want _this_? What could anyone possible gain from a world devoid of life? A world where even nature itself mourned, draping the land in never-ending gray?

She hadn't known things had gotten this bad. Sure, she was kept up to date when it came to anything important thanks to her elves. But hearing about it was not the same as seeing it first hand.

Leli stilled at the sight of another hooded figure.

This one was different. The figure didn't scramble and scurry, it walked slowly taking in it's surroundings as if it were unwilling to miss a thing.

At first, Leli was sure it was a Death Eater on patrol, but then she noticed something strange about the figure. There seemed to be a sort of dejected aura surrounding it. Almost mournful.

She didn't know about any Death Eater that actually regretted what was happening.

Except maybe…

Leli bit her lip as she watched the figure approach.

She should go. She shouldn't be here. It was dangerous and reckless of her to stay.

Maybe Gila was wrong. Draco wouldn't come today. She was certain of it.

Leli didn't move.

"Draco?" Leli asked in a soft voice when the figure was close enough to hear.

The figure immediately halted and threw its hood off.

The familiar white blond head that appeared made Leli's breath catch and tears threaten her eyes.

Draco looked around himself frantically, searching for her but unable to see her hidden in the shadows.

"Draco," Leli whispered, reaching out of her hiding place towards him.

He saw her hand and rushed towards her.

He threw back her hood, held her face between his hands, and kissed her desperately. Leli grabbed a hold of his hair and kissed him back, reveling in the sensation of being with him again. Of knowing he was alright.

Merlin, she'd missed him dreadfully these past months.

She pulled back reluctantly. Draco looked at her and opened his mouth to say something.

Leli drew back and punched him with all her strength.

Draco grunted with pain and looked at her in surprise while he held his stomach.

Leli crossed her arms across her chest and looked at him through narrowed eyes. "You lied to me."  
>Draco just flinched and looked away.<p>

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, her voice soft.

Draco laughed humorlessly, still avoiding her gaze. "Exactly what did you expect me to say, Leli?"

"Anything!" Leli said, her voice frantic.

He finally met her eyes. "I _am_ sorry, Leliel. For everything."

Leli searched his gaze. His stormy eyes were duller then she had ever seen them, haunted by what he had seen.

Leli sighed, letting go of all her anger. She was with him now and that was what was important. And she didn't know how she knew, but Leli was certain that Draco had needed to see her as badly as she had needed to see him.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned into him, enjoying the few moments she would have surrounded by his scent.

Draco hesitantly put his arms around her. After a moment, when it was obvious she wasn't going to pull away, he tightened his hold and buried his face in her dark hair, breathing her in.

* * *

><p>He didn't know how long he held her when he heard a familiar laugh echo down the desolate street.<p>

Draco's head shot up and while keeping Leli held tightly in his arms, scanned the street.

"Aunt Bellatrix," he murmured.

Leli's head rose in surprise. She followed his gaze and stiffened.

Bellatrix was strutting along the street, a Death Eater at her side and her wand at the ready, enjoying the view of the ruined city.

"Draco," his aunt cooed as she walked aroung, looking in every corner of Diagon Alley.

"You have to go," Draco told her, pushing Leli behind him and further into the darkened alley.

"But…" Leli started, her voice hesitant.

Draco turned around and pushed his lips against hers.

She had to leave. If Aunt Bellatrix saw her…

She _had_ to leave.

"_Now_, Leli." He whispered urgently.

Leli hesitated for another moment. Draco looked out of the alley and saw his aunt approaching. He looked back at Leli, praying she would go before his aunt saw her.

Leli nodded, kissed his cheek and whispered, "Gila is mine."

Draco frowned, confused by what that meant but before he could ask, she had already left.

He jumped when someone grabbed his shoulder.

"Answer when I call you, Draco!" Bellatrix scolded in her shrill voice.

"I was distracted." Draco told her honestly.

"By what?" The Death Eater asked mockingly, "See your reflection and stopped to admire yourself, did you. Malfoy?"

"Silence, you idiot!" Bellatrix snapped, turning her wand on him.

The Death Eater raised his hands and took a step back.

"Did you call, Aunt?" Draco asked to distract her. He didn't want his few moments with Leli tainted with more bloodshed.

Bellatrix looked at the Death Eater then turned her attention to Draco. "Cissy was searching for you."

Draco nodded, "I'll head straight home then."

"Good." his aunt said, keeping her wand pointed at the Death Eater. "Run along, Draco. I'll be right behind you."

Draco apparated a few feet from a large black gate. The Death Eater on guard opened it and Draco began walking towards Malfoy Manor.

His aunt was probably going to kill that Death Eater for insulting him.

He shook his head.

Everyone knew his Aunt Bellatrix had a nasty temper and was a possessively protective person.

But it seemed people believed she was only that way with You-Know-Who. They seemed to forgot that his aunt actually, in her way, cared about Draco and his mom. And could be vicious to any insult or threat directed at them.

He sighed. His aunt could also be a very fickle person. While protective of him, if she, for even a moment, believed he had betrayed his birthright or The Dark Lord she'd turn her viciousness on him in the span of a heartbeat.

She truly was insane.

"Master Draco," one of the elves greeted him as he entered the house. Draco tossed it his cloak without pausing and continued towards the sitting room, where he was sure to find his mother.

"Draco," his mom greeted him with a hug when he entered.

"Mother?" Draco asked, he couldn't help but be confused by the hug. His mother wasn't necessarily the most affectionate of women. She always preferred to maintain her cool demeanor, even at home.

"Don't leave on your own again," she told him, looking earnestly into his eyes and gripping his shoulders.

"What's happened?" he asked. He'd been gone less than an hour. There was no reason his mother should be so distraught.

She hesitated. "It's not safe out there." she whispered.

Draco reluctantly nodded. He had wanted to see Leli again but he couldn't make his mother worry.

Narcissa sighed in relief and sat in one of her snow white armchairs.

"Would you like some tea, Draco?" She asked, her voice and manner calm and collected once more.

Draco shook his head and left her, heading to the library a few doors down.

He picked a random book and took a seat on the dark brown couch, his thoughts immediately turning to Leli.

She was well.

When he'd heard of the sudden disappearance of Dumbledore's daughters he'd been terrified she'd been hurt. But there had been nothing he'd been able to do that wouldn't cause her unwanted attention. And even if none of his fears were founded, Draco had thought she might even try to kill him if he ever saw her again.

Which he would have more than deserved. None of this would have happened if it wasn't for him.

How had she been able to forgive him? Or even stand the sight of him?

Draco closed his eyes and remembered how amazing it had felt to see her.

He knew he shouldn't have, but he couldn't help but kiss her, he'd been so happy she was alive.

And he'd been ecstatic when she kissed him back.

Then she'd done something he never would have guessed.

She'd punched him. She had actually punched him in the stomach! He rubbed his stomach and smirked. His Leli sure knew how to throw a punch, though. And he had no doubt it was justified. He actually believed he deserved much worse.

He wondered if he would ever see her again. There was so much he should have told her. So much he should've asked.

"Master Draco?"

Draco opened his eyes and frowned at the house-elf who appeared before him. "What?"

It held out a folded piece of parchment to him.

Draco looked at the elf with a raised eyebrow but took the parchment anyway. It was probably just a note from Lucius.

He couldn't believe that he had once looked up to his father. _Worshipped_ him even. He had actually wanted to be like him.

Now, though… Now he pitied the man.

Lucius Malfoy was nothing more than a self-absorbed coward. A man who would give his family over to the Dementors in order to avoid spending an hour in Azkaban. Recently, Lucius had become so frightened that other than his bedroom and study he no longer wandered around his own house. Instead he sent notes and elves when he wanted to speak with someone as a form of summons.

Draco considered disregarding the note, he didn't want to see Lucius. But, on the off chance that it was important, he opened the note. Besides, he could always ignore his father if he wanted to. It wouldn't even be the first time.

_Meet my magical messenger._

_She's loyal to A and I. None other._

_More than a messenger, she is also an observer and protector._

_Treat her with respect, Draco._

_ Yours Truly,_

_ The One from The Secret Room_

_Leli._ Draco traced her writing. Even without the hint, he remembered her flowing script from Transfiguration. He smiled. Who would have thought Draco Malfoy would miss Transfiguration class so much?

He looked at the house-elf who was still waiting for him.

"What's your name?" Draco asked it.

"Gila," the elf said, its back straight and its chin high.

_"Gila is mine."_

Draco studied Gila the elf. It was uncharacteristically proud for a house-elf and its large pale eyes seemed to shine with an unnatural intelligence.

Gila was Leli's "messenger, observer, and protector."

Draco could understand the messenger and observer, but protector? How was a house-elf a good protector?

"Leli says you're her protector. How is that possible?" Draco asked the elf.

"I am not her protector. I am _yours_." The elf told Draco. "Mistress Leliel is protected within her walls."

Draco narrowed his eyes. "I don't _need_ a protector."

Gila inclined her head. "With all due respect, that is for my mistress to decide."

Draco scowled, already disliking the pompous elf.

"When will you see Leli again?" Draco asked instead of saying something he would later regret. Leli had asked him to respect the elf, after all. He'd try for her.

"One week."

"When I call, will you answer?" Technically an elf only answered to their master. If Leli and Assi were this one's mistresses then it might not even hear Draco when he called.

"My mistress has asked that I do so." It replied.

Draco nodded. "Then I will call you when I have written a note for Leli."

The elf bowed and apparated away before Draco could say another word.

At least now he could stay in contact without risking her safety.

He just wished it wasn't through something as unreliable as an elf.


	8. Chapter 7: The Word on the Street

**Chapter Seven: November 1977: The Word on the Street**

"So, when are you planning to kiss him?" Assi whispered to Lily as she sat beside her in the library.

"What makes you think I haven't already?" Lily asked with a raised eyebrow.

Assi chuckled. "Because James isn't walking on air."

Lily fingered the pages of the book she had been reading. "The thing is… I don't know if I should."

"You lost the bet, Lily," Assi pointed out.

"But what if he thinks this means I want more?" Lily asked nervously.

Assi knew James would, but she was counting on the fact that _Lily _would too. Still, she couldn't tell Lily that and Lily had a radiant heart. So no matter how much James annoyed her, Lily would never do anything to hurt him for something as childish as a bet.

"Alright…" Assi started.

Lily looked at Assi hopefully.

"If you don't want him to get the wrong idea from you kissing him, you are free to tell him about the bet." Assi almost felt bad about Lily's dejected look but it was an established fact that Lily and James were happily in love for years. Her meddling was probably unnecessary but she wanted them to be with one another for as long as possible and she was willing to lock them in a broom closet until they realized they belonged together. Since she had a more subtle way of doing things, she'd save the broom closet for Plan B.

She laughed to herself. Yeah, subtle. She'd only considered this plan since it'd worked out so well for Leli and Draco. If it hadn't been for them there was no way her little scheme would actually work. But now that she knew that a kiss was all it took... well, her matchmaking was _so_ getting an ego boost.

Lily sighed in resignation and nodded. "I'll do it."

Assi grinned. "Perfect! When?"

Lily shrugged uncertainly. "Soon, I suppose."

"Why not tonight during rounds?" Assi suggested.

Lily looked at her with wide eyes and shook her head, "No!"

Assi held her hands up in surrender, "I just thought you'd like to get it over with."

Lily opened her mouth in reply but then seemed to think better about it.

"Anyway, I'm meeting Sirius in a few minutes. So I'll see you tonight." Assi left with a wave to a thoughtful Lily.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Fifi," Sirius mumbled without looking up from his when she sat across from him at the table in the common room.<p>

Assi rolled her eyes at the established nickname. She supposed it could've been worse. She could live with Fifi.

Assi looked at what he was reading and sat back in surprise. "You're actually studying, Sirius?"

Sirius shrugged as he continued to read. "Most of my extraordinary genius is natural. For the other part, I occasionally open the book."

Assi smirked, "How modest of you."

Sirius looked up, grinned at her and winked, "Modesty is just one of my many wonderful assets."

Assi laughed and shook her head at his smugness.

"How'd it go with Lily?" Sirius asked, closing his book and setting it aside.

"I have a feeling she'll do it tonight." Assi finished after she told him what had happened with Lily.

"Then Lily is going to tell James about the bet?" Sirius asked in surprise.

Assi nodded. "You don't think he'll be insulted do you?"

Sirius thought for a second before shaking his head, "It's better that she tell him. Besides, this way James will give the kiss his all to make sure Lily comes back for more."

"Good," Assi said in relief. She'd been hoping she'd made the right choice but she didn't really know James very well and might have made a mistake. But if Sirius agreed with her decision then she knew she'd been right.

"Why didn't you ask for a date?" he asked her curiously.

"Because a date has tremendous potential to go wrong." Assi told him honestly, "While a real kiss can only feel one of two ways: right or wrong."

Sirius gave her a confused look. "How can a kiss be wrong? I know what a _bad_ kiss is but wrong?"

Assi bit her bottom lip, trying to find a way to explain it. In the end she just decided to explain it the way Leli had since Assi herself had never experienced it, "Have you heard of muggles say that they saw fireworks when they were kissed by a certain person?"

"Fireworks?" Sirius frowned. "You want us to set off fireworks inside the school when Lily kisses James? Isn't that counterproductive?"

Assi almost laughed at the idea, "No, Sirius. They are metaphorical fireworks."

"How do we set off metaphorical fireworks?" Sirius asked her, even more confused.

Assi shook her head. "Never mind. The point of the saying is that there is a certain… way people feel when they kiss the person that's meant for them. And I'm positive Lily will feel it when she kisses James."

Sirius scoffed. "That's just a silly belief. Nothing but a fairytale."

At a different time, Assi would have had to agree with him. But that had been before Leli and Draco. Assi thought of them. At how happy her sister had been and how Draco, the self-absorbed arrogant brat, had changed whenever he was around Leli. Draco had often smiled, _smiled!_, when Leli was with him and Assi had never seen her overworked sister so relaxed.

"No. It's true." Assi knew for certain there was such a thing as the perfect person for everyone.

Soulmates really did exist.

Sirius studied her for a moment. "How do you know?" he asked her, his voice cautious.

Assi smiled, "My sister."

"Oh," Sirius replied, relaxing. "What's the plan for Phase Three?"

Assi looked at him in disbelief. "That was your phase!"

Sirius groaned and dropped his head on the table with a _thump!_ "I know. But I have no idea how to get it done. Don't you have any suggestions?"

Assi shook her head. "Nope. I've done my part."

"Fine! I'll figure something out." Sirius groaned, his voice muffled by the table.

"Good." Assi said as she got up.

"Where you going?" Sirius asked, looking at her in surprise.

"I want to change out of my uniform." she called back, already heading upstairs.

Other than Lauren Chase reading on her bed, the dormitory was empty so Assi quickly changed into jeans and a simple long-sleeved shirt.

"How did you do it?" Chase asked, out of nowhere.

Assi looked at her, wondering what she was talking about and amazed she was talking to her at all. While she seemed friendly, Chase kept to herself and only really spoke with her Hufflepuff friends and Brianna.

"How did you get Sirius Black to date you for so long?" she asked again.

"Sirius is my friend." Assi corrected.

Chase gave her a disbelieving look.

"Really." Assi insisted. Sirius and her _were_ only friends and there was no reason people should think they were anything more.

"He's spending more time with you then anyone else. _Even_ the other Marauders. That's never happened before. Not to the other Marauders and _especially_ not to Sirius." Chase told her, flipping the pages of her magazine. "Everyone is wondering when you'll stop acting like friends and finally tell everyone you're together."

Assi stood there in shock. Sure she and Sirius were spending a lot of time together but that was inevitable when they had all the same classes and when they were plotting. But they were just friends. Why did people insist that that automatically meant they were dating?

"I'm going downstairs." she told Chase as she rushed back to the common room not waiting for her to reply.

She saw Sirius talking with Peter, both now sitting on the couch. Assi took a perch on the couch's armrest, preferring to stay as far as she could from Peter. She knew his future and, simply said, she wanted nothing to do with him.

Sirius wrapped his arm around her waist, causing Assi to stiffen. Did he always do that? It seemed automatic which meant this wasn't the first time he had done it. And she'd never noticed? She couldn't remember seeing him do the same with Lily, Kenny, or Brianna.

"What's wrong, Fifi?" Sirius asked her when she still didn't relax.

Assi frowned. He'd given her a nickname too. Had he given anyone else, other than the Marauders one? But that just proved they were friends. Didn't it? While she didn't particularly care what people thought, she worried that _Sirius_ might start to believe that they were more than friends.

She had to make sure that didn't happen.

"Sirius, can we talk? In private?" she asked him after he continued to look at her in concern.

"Sure." Sirius agreed, understandably wary. He turned to Peter, "See you later, Wormtail."

Sirius got up and motioned for Assi to lead the way.

Assi led him to the outside courtyard and sat on a bench. Due to the cold weather there were few students out at this time which afforded them a certain amount of privacy.

Sirius sat beside her and looked at her curiously.

"Apparently, popular opinion is that we're dating." Assi told him straight out.

Sirius blinked. Then he burst out laughing.

If he laughed then he must obviously see them as nothing more then friends. And that _was_ a relief. She wondered why she felt herself tensing rather than relaxing at his laugh.

"People just aren't used to me having a friend that is a girl. That's all." he assured her with his easy grin.

Assi grinned back. "Good! For a moment there, I thought _you_ were spreading the rumors."

"Moi?" Sirius asked with an indignant expression. He held a hand to his chest. "Fifi, you wound me!"

Assi just laughed.

"You know," Sirius said throwing an arm over Assi's shoulders, "that explains why I have less pups."

"Pups?" Assi asked looking at Sirius in bewilderment.

Sirius shrugged. "Yeah, pups. As in, girls that follow me around like lost puppies. I noticed that they usually leave when you're around but when you're not I don't see as many as I used to."

"Aww…" Assi cooed mockingly, "Does wittle Paddyfoot miss his girlies?" She actually knew what he was talking about, there always seemed to be a few girls trailing him wherever he went, sometimes even when Assi was there, but she couldn't help but tease him.

Sirius snorted. "As if. They try too hard. It's annoying."

"I know what you mean." Assi muttered, her mind going to a particular 7th year Ravenclaw.

Sirius looked at her curiously, "Who are your pups?"

"I just have one." Assi told him, "Adrian's friend, Monroe."

"Adrian?" Sirius asked with interest.

"Kenny's boyfriend?" Assi looked over at him in surprise. How did he not know who Adrian was? After all, Kenny only ever talked about three things and one of them was her boyfriend of the last three years.

"Oh, Griswold." Sirius frowned. "Is Monroe the one that likes to talk a lot or the one that looks like a horse?"

"The one that looks like a horse. I actually like the one that talks a lot." Assi yawned and leaned into Sirius. She was comfortable and getting sleepy. She knew that it wasn't that late since the sun had just set, but ever since she'd gotten to this time she had trouble sleeping. Time-lag instead of jet-lag she supposed.

"You like the talkative one?" Sirius asked.

"Mmmhmm," Assi closed her eyes, "He's a good storyteller."

"Does he think we're dating, too?" Sirius asked, his voice harder than usual.

Assi frowned and opened her eyes to look at him.

He looked the same as always, relaxing and looking up at the stars. She must have imaged it.

She closed her eyes again. "He asked and I told him we weren't."

Sirius was quiet for a while at which time Assi almost fell completely asleep. "What's his name?"

"Riordan," Assi sighed and snuggled closer to Sirius. He was warm and it was getting colder outside.

Sirius tightened his arm around her and Assi fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p>Sirius looked down at Sophia, prepared to ask her another question about the mighty Storyteller Riordan but stopped when he noticed she'd fallen asleep.<p>

He smiled and pushed back the wild curls that fell across her peaceful face.

If he were honest with himself, he liked the idea that people thought they were dating. It meant she was all his. And he couldn't think of a single person he would rather date long term.

Still, he wasn't ready to be tied down. Maybe some day, but not now. He was too young for that. Unlike James he fully expected to enjoy life before he committed himself to a single person. He was a free spirit and liked it. Always had.

Sirius frowned. Although, now that he thought about it, he hadn't been as amorous as he usually was other years. Actually, he couldn't remember a single conquest since the beginning of this school year.

It must have just been because he'd been trying to conquer Sophia and then was completely distracted by Lily and James.

Yeah. That was it.

He looked down at Sophia, sleeping in his arms.

He shook his head. He'd decided friends was best. And once Lily and James were together he'd prove to himself and everyone else that he was still free to pursue and attain any and everyone he set his eyes on.

At least he hoped he'd be able to.

Sophia snuggled closer to him and Sirius sighed.

At the moment, he could only think of a single person he wanted.


	9. Chapter 8: The Kiss

**Chapter Eight: November 1977: The Kiss**

Sirius lay in bed, thinking how to accomplish Phase Three and trying to ignore thinking about Sophia.

He was failing on both accounts.

Earlier he had woken Sophia and sent her to bed while he'd done the same, needing time to think and knowing no one would be in their dormitory. Peter had been doing his homework in the common room and both Remus and James had Prefect duties.

That had been a few hours ago. Peter was now snoring in his bed and Remus had come in about half an hour ago. Sirius could hear him sleeping fitfully.

The full moon was coming up which meant poor Remus wouldn't get a good night's sleep for a while, even with Madam Pomphry's sleeping droughts. Sirius honestly wished he could do something to help his friend, but after years all he had managed to do was simply stand by his side. He didn't think that was nearly enough.

Sirius turned his head towards the door when he heard it open. James walked towards his bed, apparently oblivious of the world around him.

Sirius couldn't see his expression. "Prongs?"

James grinned at him. "She kissed me!" he told Sirius, excitedly.

Sirius sat up and returned his grin. His friend had a right to be excited. "How was it?"

James sat at the edge of his bed, facing Sirius and told him dreamily, "Amazing. We were doing our rounds and then she started telling me that she made a bet with Sophia and lost. I asked what she'd lost and she told me she had to kiss me. And then she did! Right there in the middle of the fourth floor corridor!" James sighed with delight. "It was just… _amazing_. After she pulled away, I kissed her again. I told her I wanted to make sure she had completed her part of the bet and she just laughed and kissed me back. Can you believe she kissed me back? And she actually laughed instead of hitting or hexing me. And _she kissed me back!_"

James dropped himself onto his bed, his hands behind his head with a permanent grin. "She kissed me, Padfoot. Lily Evans kissed me."

Sirius laughed, "It's about time, too, Prongs." He was happy for his friend and, with luck and Sophia's help, he'd make sure James stayed happy.

Now, if only he could figure out how to complete Phase Three.

* * *

><p>Sirius walked into the Great Hall for breakfast, an overjoyed James at his side. His gaze searched the Gryffindor table. He frowned when he saw Sophia sitting awfully close to The Storyteller.<p>

He headed towards them before he was fully aware of what he was doing.

Sirius pulled out his wand and murmured a quick spell, sending The Storyteller sliding down the bench in the opposite direction.

He sat down beside a stunned Sophia, threw his arm around her shoulders, pulled her close, and pressed his lips against hers.

He pulled back and stared at a dumbfounded Sophia. Apparently too shocked to say anything.

Sirius turned back to The Storyteller and gave him a snarling grin that was as much possessive as threatening. After a moment, the blond glowered in return but got up and walked towards the door.

Sirius kept his gaze locked on him until he left the Great Hall.

Then he looked down at Sophia with a self-satisfied smirk.

It disappeared the moment he met Sophia's heated glare, her eyes turning a darker violet, almost blue.

_Oh oh… _He remembered that color. It was the same one she had the day she turned him into a clown.

What had he just done?

"What was that about?" Sophia growled through clenched teeth.

Sirius racked his brain, looking for a quick solution to the incredibly stupid problem he had just created.

"Phase Three," Sirius whispered when his eyes caught a grinning James taking a seat in front of them.

Sophia's murderous look was replaced with one of confusion. "What?"

"Later," Sirius replied, hoping for some time to think up a good excuse and plan.

"Now." Sophia told him, her voice making it clear there was no chance of negotiating.

He paused for a few seconds before he brightened at a sudden thought.

He brought his lips to her ear so that only she could hear and her hair hid his face. "We ask Prongs and Lily to double date with us since you're nervous because this is our first official date. Once they seem comfortable with one another, we leave."

Sirius couldn't help but enjoy the feel of her skin, letting his lips linger right behind her ear in a soft kiss. He smirked when he felt her shudder slightly.

He brought his head up to see her expression, not willing to push his luck.

Sophia studied him for a while, her skin flushed faintly, before nodding.

"You owe me two Galleons, Prongs," Remus said as he sat down beside James.

James handed over the two galleons with a shake of his head to Sirius and Sophia. "You couldn't wait until after Break?"

Sirius frowned.

"You bet on when we would get together?" Sophia asked in surprise, looking between Remus and James.

"No. We bet on when you'd tell people you were together." Remus corrected, pocketing the galleons with a grin.

Sophia shook her head and continued eating her breakfast, apparently deciding to not ask any more questions.

Sirius followed her lead and began to eat, wondering why he couldn't seem to get rid of the stupid grin on his face.

* * *

><p>"Lily!" Assi shouted as she spotted the redhead walking towards class.<p>

Lily turned her head and stopped when she noticed Assi.

"I did it," Lily told her when she reached them.

Assi grinned, "I could tell from James expression at breakfast."

Lily blushed and quickened her pace. "Speaking of breakfast," she said, looking at Assi from the corner of her eye with a smirk.

Assi stared at her open-mouthed. "How did you know? You weren't even there!"

Lily laughed. "Brianna told me. By the way, its about time you two told everyone. I even heard there people were taking bets."

Assi rolled her eyes. Was there _anyone_ who hadn't thought she'd been dating Sirius? And now that she thought about it, Assi _had_ noticed James wasn't the only one in the Great Hall handing over money.

Now, that was just embarrassing.

Assi cleared her throat, recalling the reason for this ruse. Phase Three. "Speaking of that, Sirius and I have our first date this weekend at Hogsmeade."

Lily frowned, "First date?"

"We actually _weren't_ dating. We shared a few kisses but other than that we decided staying friends was best. Last night, though, we decided to give dating a chance." Assi told Lily, sticking with the simple story she and Sirius had come up with during breakfast. It was mostly true and as far as anyone was concerned it made sense since most people had seem them leave the common room for a while last night.

"So this really will be your first date?" Lily asked her in surprise.

Assi nodded, "And I'm actually really nervous."

Lily smiled and told her reassuringly. "It'll be fine. You and Sirius make a wonderful couple."

Assi gave her a small smile in thanks. Lily really was so sweet. "Will you do me a favor and come with us?"

Lily laughed, "I doubt you want _me _along for your first date."

Assi bit her lip and started fidgeting with the silver ring Leli had given her for good-luck. "I was actually thinking of making it a double date. That way I wouldn't be so nervous."

Lily stopped and looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Why don't you ask Kenny?"

Assi gave her a look, "Being with Kenny and Adrian would be worse than being alone."

Lily thought for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Brianna?"

Assi shook her head, "I think she would make me more nervous."

"Trivianna?"

"Trivianna thinks all the Marauders are idiots." Assi told her.

"Isn't there _anyone_ else?" Lily asked desperately.

Assi gave her an apologetic look.

Lily looked down the corridor distractedly, "You want me to go with James, don't you?"

Assi shrugged. "He _is_ Sirius's best friend."

Lily sighed. "Alright. I'll go."

Assi grinned in triumph and gave Lily a hug before quickly going in search of Sirius before Lily had a chance to change her mind.

She found Sirius a few minutes later talking with someone.

As she neared she realized that it was Riordan.

Riordan shot her a grin and a wink when he saw her approaching over Sirius's shoulder.

Sirius turned around and stiffened when he saw her. Riordan whispered something to him that made him whirl around and growl something in return.

Assi hurried over. She didn't know what was going on, but she had a bad feeling.

"Prove it," she heard Riordan tell Sirius, his arms crossed in front of him in defiance.

Sirius turned back to Assi, walked the few remaining steps to her and kissed her.

Assi stayed still in his arms, confused by what was happening.

When Sirius started moving his lips against hers, Assi couldn't resist closing her eyes with a soft moan and relaxing, kissing him in return.

She wrapped her arms around his neck as he wrapped his around her waist.

Assi completely lost herself in the breath-taking kiss, their first real kiss.

She felt as if she could kiss him forever and moaned when she felt his tongue trace her bottom lip.

Sirius was truly a masterful kisser, Assi thought to herself dazedly as she parted her lips for him.

They jumped away from each other when they heard someone whistle.

Assi looked around, realizing that students were beginning to fill the corridor.

She looked up at Sirius, who was studying her with hooded mercury eyes.

Assi looked away and motioned in the direction of their next class, a small blush staining her cheeks.

Sirius nodded with a large grin, wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led the way to Potions.

Assi played with a lock of her hair as she thought of how to make sure nothing more like their kiss happened.

Maybe she could make a reversal love spell? Did that kill an attraction that existed naturally? But what if she went too far and ended up killing their friendship?

Then she'd be in trouble.

Should she just date him? In a way that was bound to make him trust her more.

Then again, Assi was a disaster when it came to relationships. In her entire life she'd only dated three guys. Well… technically four if she counted Blaise. But since she'd only dated him for his quick contact with Draco, she didn't feel right counting him.

As for the three relationships she _did _count… They hadn't gone well. From Matt the Monster to Liam the Liar and Dustin the Double-Crosser, she really knew how to pick them.

Assi sighed.

She had _really_ enjoyed that kiss. More than any of the others she'd had.

She could almost say she felt sparks and saw fireworks, as cheesy as that sounded.

But maybe Sirius hadn't?

He _had_ been arguing with Riordan before she arrived. And then he'd kissed her. Maybe he'd only done it to prove to Riordan that they were dating, even if they really weren't?

Why would he need to prove anything to Riordan though? Maybe she should stop seeing him?

Assi frowned at herself. No. Riordan was her friend and Assi wasn't about to give him up just because Sirius disliked him. She'd never given up a friend for a boyfriend and she never would without good reason.

Besides, Sirius wasn't _really_ her boyfriend. He was just pretending so they could get Lily and James together. After that they would just go back to being friends.

Even though Assi was started to want much more than a simple friendship with Sirius Black.


	10. Chapter 9: The Killer Snowman

**Chapter Nine: December 1977: The Killer Snowman**

"I can't believe I actually had fun in a joke shop," They heard Lily laugh as she sat down in one of the chairs at the back of The Three Broomsticks.

James took the seat beside her and told her smugly. "I told you you would."

"I still can't believe you got her to go in." Sirius told Assi with a shake of his head.

"Why do people doubt my marvelous persuasive abilities?" Assi asked him curiously as they waited at the bar for their butterbeers.

"Because they're unbelievable?" Sirius asked with a cheeky grin.

Assi chuckled and glanced towards Lily and James who seemed to be enjoying a civil conversation filled with smiles and laughter rather than threats and yells. "We should probably give those two some alone time."

Sirius followed her gaze and nodded. "I do believe you're right."

Assi gasped dramatically, "Did you doubt me?"

"Never!" Sirius replied in the same tone. "How could I ever doubt your brilliance?"

Assi flicked back her curls with an exaggerated air, "You couldn't."

Sirius shook his head with a laugh. He motioned his head towards the door, "Shall we, my brilliant Fifi?"

"Lead the way, my marvelous Padfoot." Assi motioned for him to go forward.

Sirius grabbed her hand and quickly led her out of The Three Broomsticks.

"So what are we to do while James and Lily enjoy the rest of the day together?" Sirius asked.

Assi automatically entwined her fingers with his while she thought of what they could do.

"Want to make a snowman?" Sirius asked when she couldn't seem to think of anything.

She looked at him in confusion, "You want to make a snowman?"

Sirius nodded with a grin and dragged her towards a small clearing in the woods bordering Hogsmeade.

Sirius let go of her hand and they began the process of making a man out of snow.

"Why a snowman?" Assi asked as they gathered snow.

He just gave her his usual grin without saying anything. Assi shrugged and kept working. She ended up like most of his plans anyway.

"You never really talk about your family," Sirius observed as he worked on the middle.

"Neither do you," she pointed out.

Sirius shrugged. "There's not much to say. My parents are pureblood extremists and I'm not so I ran away a little more than a year ago and am now happily living with the Potters."

Assi looked at him curiously. He had said it so matter-of-factly, as if it didn't really matter. "Do you miss your parents?"

Sirius paused and shook his head slowly. "I'm happy I left. I didn't belong in that family, not really. But… I do miss Regulus."

"Is he your brother?" Assi asked him. She knew he was but she wasn't _suppose_ to.

Sirius nodded. "Younger. Slytherin 6th year, actually."

"Sirius, if he's here, why don't you talk to him?" Assi wondered out loud. Even if Leli had gotten Slytherin she was still her sister.

Sirius laughed humorlessly. "I've tried but all that happens is we end up arguing and he just goes back to his Slytherin pack. I had hoped he wouldn't get sucked into our parents' idiotic beliefs, but…" Sirius shrugged and gave her a sad smile.

Assi bit her lip and wondered if there was anyway to get Regulus to listen to his brother. She sighed. She knew the future. When Sirius left Hogwarts he would never see his brother again.

"Your turn, Fifi," Sirius told her.

Assi started working on the head since Sirius had nearly finished the middle. What could she tell him that wouldn't be saying too much? She didn't want to lie but maybe she could tell him while leaving out the parts that wouldn't make sense in this time?

It was worth a shot. "My mom died after I was born. My biological father has nothing to do with me or my sister's lives. My dad knew my mom from school and when he found out what had happened, he adopted us."

"Why isn't your biological father in your lives?" Sirius asked curiously.

Now wasn't that a tricky question?

"He's not a good man. The man who adopted us, though… I've never met better," Assi told him truthfully.

Sirius studied her for a moment before nodding as he gathered the snowman's accessories from the surrounding forest.

"How do you like our snowman?" Sirius asked, stepping back to admire their work of art.

Assi stepped back and tilted her head to study their snowman. "I think he needs a hat."

Sirius waved his wand and had a pure ice top hat appear on top of the snowman's head.

Assi ignored Sirius's cocky smile and nodded in approval at the snowman's appearance.

"Watch this," Sirius said and waved his wand towards the snowman again, this time, his smile a full-out grin.

Assi watched in wonder as the snowman began to move. First he moved around his stick arms and then stretched his snow white body one way and then the other. He hopped around for a bit and then seemed to notice Assi and Sirius.

The snowman stopped and studied them.

"How did you do that, Sirius?" Assi asked Sirius in awe as the snowman began to move towards the nearby trees.

"I've already told you, Fifi. I'm a genius." Sirius told her smugly.

Assi rolled her eyes and gave him a playful shove that made Sirius chuckle.

"What do you want to name him?" Sirius asked, motioning to the snowman who seemed to be picking up something.

Assi grinned as a thought struck her. "How about Frosty?"

Sirius laughed and shook his head.

"Let's go see what Frosty is doing." Sirius said as he took her hand and began to lead her towards Frosty.

Assi frowned in confusion when she saw that Frosty seemed to be building something. "What is he doing?" she asked Sirius.

"I have no idea," Sirius murmured as he slowly walked closer.

"What you making, Frosty?" he asked when they were within earshot.

Frosty whirled around, a stick held threateningly in his hands. He brandished the stick like a weapon and swiped at the air in front of Sirius.

Sirius and Assi jumped back in surprise. They looked at each other with wide eyes then turned their attention back to Frosty who put the stick into his side and picked up the thing he had been making. It looked like some sort of tube with a handle.

Frosty pointed one end of the tube towards them and Sirius pulled Assi close to his side.

Frosty pulled on the handle and Sirius dropped to the floor, pulling Assi down with him, covering her with his arms.

Assi pushed his arm aside so that she could see Frosty hopping towards them. Assi looked at the trees that had been behind them and gasped when she saw they were now icicles.

"Shit!" Sirius cursed as he noticed the same thing she had.

"Time to go." He told her, pulling Assi up. A slack-jawed Assi nodded and they began to run towards Hogsmeade, trying to dodge the sudden blasts of freezing water that would burst from Frosty's weapon.

"Killer snowman!" Sirius shouted when they burst out of the woods and into the crowded streets of Hogsmeade.

Assi heard a few people laugh and shake their head, probably thinking it was just another Marauder joke.

"He's serious!" Assi shouted, even pushing a few people, trying to get them to go away before Frosty came to turn them into living ice sculptures.

A sudden shout caused Assi to turn around and see a group of iced carolers with an armed Frosty coming out of the woods.

Sirius grabbed Assi's hand and together they sped for cover beside the Hog's Head.

"Are you alright?" Sirius asked Assi as he tired to catch his breath.

Assi nodded taking deep breaths as she tried to peak around the building.

"Don't do that," Sirius hissed, pulling her back by the hood of her blue jacket.

"How else are we suppose to know where Frosty is?" Assi hissed back.

Sirius reluctantly let her go but warned her to be careful.

Assi nodded and took her wand out. She looked out and saw Frosty spraying his surroundings with ice water.

Assi pointed her wand towards him and murmured a spell that would leave Frosty a melted mess.

The spell hit him straight on but seemed to bounce off some sort of shield.

Frosty turned in her direction.

Assi quickly hid herself and glared at Sirius, "He can't be melted?"

Sirius frowned. "Of course he can."

Assi shook her head and motioned him forward, "You try."

They switch places and it was Sirius's turn to try to melt him.

Sirius cursed.

"I told you." Assi hissed at him while he still stared around the building.

Sirius shook his head. "He's coming this way."

Assi peaked over his shoulder and saw Frosty hopping towards them.

"Let's go!" she said, this time pulling Sirius after her.

"Where are we going?" Sirius asked as he ran alongside her.

"Hogwarts. Someone there is bound to know how to get rid of Frosty." Assi told him as they began running up the path.

Sirius looked back and shouted "Duck!" a moment before a shot of water flew over their heads.

"Get inside!" Assi shouted at the stunned students she saw up ahead that had almost gotten blasted. "Tell one of the professors!"

A frizzy haired redhead nodded and ran with the blond girl she'd been walking with.

"Don't you know a reversal spell?" Assi asked when they dodged another blast.

Sirius shook his head, "Prongs' dad never taught us."

"Did any of them go crazy before?" she asked as they entered the castle.

"I don't think so." Sirius replied, grabbing her hand and pulling her to the left.

"Get down," McGonagall ordered as she walked towards them, her wand out and ready, Flitwick running behind her.

They crouched down, Sirius shielding her with his body.

They heard a few more blasts, some shouts, and then… silence.

When they looked up it was to see a peeved McGonagall staring at them with a raised eyebrow. "To my office, the both of you."

They nodded and obediently did what they were told.

* * *

><p>Sirius jumped as McGonagall came in. They'd been waiting in silence for her arrival and the sudden sound was a surprise.<p>

"Is everyone alright?" He immediately asked.

McGonagall nodded. "They should be better once they warm up beside a nice blazing fire."

Sirius and Sophia shared a sigh of relief. Out of everything, that had been the biggest concern on their minds.

McGonagall looked at them and crossed her arms, waiting for an explanation.

Sirius gave her a sheepish smile and shrugged, "It was our first date."

"So you decide to let loose a deranged snowman?" McGonagall asked in disbelief. "I'm afraid to ask what you have planned for your second date, Mr. Black!"

Sirius saw Sophia bite her lower lip.

"Believe me, Professor, I didn't expect Frosty to be unbalanced." Sirius told her honestly.

"Frosty?" McGonagall asked, her tone incredulous. "You named it Frosty the Snowman?"

Sirius looked at Sophia in concern when she made an odd sound. She was hiding her face behind her hands. He really hoped she wasn't crying.

"Well… yes." Sirius answered McGonagall. "You see we built a snowman and then I used a spell Mr. Potter taught James and I a few years ago. That's when it seemed to go crazy and we ran. We both tried to melt it but we couldn't and when we got to Hogsmeade we tried to tell people he was after us but no one seemed to believe us."

"I'm not surprised they didn't," McGonagall said as she sat down behind her desk and shook her head.

She turned to Sophia, "Do you have anything to add, Ms. Blair?"

Sophia quickly shook her head without looking up and McGonagall nodded. "Very well, 15 points from Gryffindor for reckless use of magic and you both get detention for a week. You two may go."

Sophia grabbed her jacket and hurried to the door, Sirius a few steps behind her.

"Mr. Black," McGonagall called before they reached the door, "I suggest you take Ms. Blair on a more traditional date next time."

Sirius grinned and nodded, hurrying after Sophia who seemed to be almost running away.

"Sophia!" He shouted making her stop as he hurried towards her.

He paused a few steps away from her when he saw her shoulders shaking.

Sirius silently cursed himself. He _had_ made her cry.

"Fifi?" he asked cautiously, walking around her so he could see her face.

Sophia was clutching her jacket and biting her lip. But it wasn't tears she seemed to be trying to hold back… it was _laughter_?

"You're not upset?" Sirius asked in surprise.

She shook her head, biting back a smile.

"But… Frosty… ?" Sirius was still confused. He had expected her to be mad at him and upset for getting her into trouble not to be _laughing_.

Sophia held her stomach and burst out laughing.

"Frosty- Killer Snowman- Best date- _Ever_!" Sophia managed to say in between bouts of laughter.

Sirius burst out laughing with her as he thought of how ridiculous there entire date had been.

She was right. This really had been the best date ever.

* * *

><p><strong>Inspired by my lovely little sister, Analisse, who has always been afraid of big bad snowmen coming to life. )<strong>


	11. Chapter 10: Need

_**I decided to post an extra chapter since I may not have the opportunity to do so next week. Spring Break has finally arrived! :D**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Ten: December 1997: Need<strong>

Draco traced her writing with his finger.

The elf had given him the letter hours ago but he still hadn't left the house's library or let go of the message.

He needed to see her. Desperately.

A few letters passed back and forth weren't enough.

He needed to hear her voice, see her smile, taste her lips.

He needed to feel her in his arms and know that she really was alright.

Sure, Draco already knew she was, otherwise she wouldn't be sending him letters… but he needed to _know._

He'd seen what The Dark Lord did to those who went against him.

The Dark Lord took everything from them. Not just their lives.

He broke them. Broke their minds with his curses and broke their hearts with his promises. When there wasn't anything left of them but a whimpering mess with empty eyes… only then would he take their lives.

Draco clenched his eyes shut and gritted his teeth until he heard his jaw crack.

He couldn't get rid of the image of Vincent Byrd. The Dark Lord's latest victim.

Byrd had helped hide muggle-borns from the Snatchers and when he was caught, they'd brought him here. Just like the rest of them. They were all brought here hearts beating, and left broken and breathless.

It all happened here. In Draco's childhood home. Currently known as the Death Eater's headquarters and the Dark Lord's residence of choice.

Draco scowled. _What an honor._

These days, when Draco walked through the hallways, he didn't think of it as his home. He didn't remember the laughs or the smiles, as rare as they were. He wasn't proud of the portraits of his Pureblood ancestors lining the walls. He didn't walk with his head held high, knowing the entire world was his for the taking.

No. What Draco remembered were the unholy screams echoing through the halls. He remembered the desperate, hopeless look in the eyes of the victims and the crazed, satisfied look in the eyes of their tormentors. He was no longer proud to belong to such a bloodthirsty group. Now he walked with his head hung low, doing what he was told with little argument yet still praying someone would come and put a stop to it all.

He wished he had the power, the will, to do what was right.

Countless times he'd straightened his spine, ready to fight, only to glance at the fearful look in his mother's eyes.

If he fought he knew she'd fight beside him. No matter what happened, his mother would always stand beside him. Even if they both knew it was suicide. She'd still raise her wand to protect him.

And she'd die. Inevitably. He may not have cast the curse, but he knew he'd be the reason she fell.

He couldn't do that.

Lucius wouldn't protect his mother. So, Draco had no choice but to bite his lip and clench his fists until teeth and nails drew blood.

He couldn't put his mother in danger like that.

Just like he knew he couldn't put Leli in danger either.

Because, before he died, the Dark Lord would break his mind and find her.

Then he really would be broken. The only two people he cared about put in danger because of him.

He couldn't do that.

Yet…

He couldn't just stand back anymore.

He couldn't just do what he was told.

He couldn't stomach hearing those screams again.

What was he suppose to do?

Draco opened his eyes and stared at the note still in his hand.

He grabbed a piece of paper from the desk and scribbled his note.

"Gila!" He called the messenger elf, who appeared a moment later.

"This is urgent." He gave her the note and she nodded, disappearing again.

Draco got up, ready to go. He was loosing his mind and he knew that he needed Leli's help to get his sanity back. No one else could help him. He wasn't even sure anyone else would care to try.

* * *

><p>Leli nodded in apparent understanding, holding back an eye roll, as the goblin continued to complain.<p>

She opened her mouth to say something when she saw Gila on the other side of the room, but the goblin simply steamrolled over her, his complaints growing louder and more ridiculous.

"We'll try to sort out your sleeping arrangements, Mr. Mockret. Now, if you'll excuse me, one of my messengers has arrived and it looks to be urgent." She told him, speaking over him.

He frowned in disapproval but she simply inclined her head and hurried towards Gila.

She prayed nothing was wrong with Draco as she gestured the elf towards a quiet part of the overcrowded sitting room in Phoenix View.

She had come to personally check in on the refugees and had instantly been assaulted with wave after wave of complaints.

During her discussion she'd been tempted to tell the goblin, the hundredth complainer, that if he didn't like it here he could go back to where he came from. But she'd managed to bite her tongue, knowing that they were all frightened here and that they simply wanted someone to care about what they said. If only for a moment.

"What's wrong?" Leli asked Gila immediately.

Gila handed the piece of parchment over to Leli. "Master Malfoy insisted that it was urgent and… he seemed to mean it."

Leli frowned at the worried expression on the little elf's face.

She opened the folded note and her forehead furrowed at the single line.

She knew it was Draco's writing thanks to his overly exaggerated "D" even though he hadn't signed the note.

He wanted her to meet him at the same place where he'd seen her in Diagon Alley. Today. At this moment, preferably.

Leli bit her lip. She couldn't just drop everything to see him.

Leli studied the note.

The obvious desperate scrawl made her realize she had no choice.

He needed her and she wasn't going to keep him waiting.

Leli gave Gila a few instructions, grabbed her black cloak and apparated to Diagon Alley.

* * *

><p>He needed to talk to her and he didn't want anyone listening in. Hopefully, the darkness of the alley would hide them from any observers as well.<p>

Leli arrived a few minutes after him and Draco couldn't help himself. He grabbed her and smashed his lips against hers, kissing her wildly.

Leli kissed him back with the same amount of intensity and before Draco knew it he had her pressed against the brick wall of the dark alley while one of his hands tangled in her wavy black hair and the other began unbuttoning her Slytherin green blouse.

She had somehow already pushed away his cloak and coat and was currently running her hands underneath his black shirt, scraping his chest with her nails. He couldn't help but ground his hips into hers in response.

Draco trailed his kissed across her jaw until he reach her ear. He bit down slightly on the spot behind her ear that always garnered a moan from her lips. He pushed her bra down and began massaging her breast while he continued kissing and biting his way down her neck.

Her hands reached the button on his pants at the same time his mouth reached her breast.

He let his mouth worship her breasts and his hands worked on her slacks.

Leli helped her pants slither their way off of her while her hands unbuttoned, unzipped, and pushed Draco's down his hips.

Leli grabbed his painfully hard shaft, earning a groan from Draco and he quickly brought his lips down on hers again.

He pulled away from the kiss, breathless, and leaned his forehead against hers. Draco stared into Leli's beautifully darkened blue-green eyes.

She gave him a saucy smile and began stroking him slowly. She was rubbing the head slightly on every downward stroke, making him go even crazier.

He gritted his teeth and lifted her leg over his hip. His fingers sought her heat, finding her wet and ready for him. He couldn't wait any longer so he moved aside Leli's skilled hands and guided himself inside of her.

They both groaned at the contact.

Leli placed her hands on his shoulders and Draco lifted her by her hips, allowing her to wrap her other leg around his waist as he held her up against the wall.

Draco kissed her again as he began to move inside of her. Pulling out slowly only to thrust back in fiercely.

Merlin, but he'd missed this. Missed _her_.

Missed the way she moaned his name every time he slid back inside of her and the way she tightened around him when he slid out, seemingly unwilling to let him go. He'd missed the way her nails dug into his shoulders and the sight of her head thrown back in pure ecstasy.

_This_ is what he needed.

Draco gave her a hard kiss before quickening the thrusting of his hips, enjoying the way she shuddered and gasped. For him. Just for him.

He loved this.

He loved having her taste on his tongue, her scent in his nose, her moans in his ears, her soft body pressed against him.

Draco felt her tighten around him and heard her breathing quicken.

"I love you." Draco told her, groaning at the sight of her coming undone in his arms.

Leli shattered with a shout bordering a scream and he followed her gladly, biting down on her shoulder to keep from shouting.

Draco kissed her shoulder softly, his breathing still labored as he leaned against her, the wall supporting both of them.

Leli wrapped her arms around him and held him close. Her head was back against the wall, her skin flushed and her eyes closed as she tried to catch her breath.

Draco pulled back and simply stared at her with a satisfied smile on his lips.

He never could help but enjoy the sight of her after they made love.

He took great pride in knowing _he_ was the reason for her exhausted state.

Draco saw her open one dazzling eye slightly and she gave his a small grin. "I love you, too."

Draco's eyes widened in surprise for a moment. Then he gave her a full out grin before kissing her again.

Leli laughed against his lips and kissed him back.

He'd never actually thought he'd hear her say it. But he _had_.

Draco couldn't stop smiling. Really smiling, he realized suddenly, for the first time in what felt like forever.

He had everything he needed at this very moment.

He had her.


	12. Chapter 11: Thoughts

_**Thanks for all the lovely reviews! They really made my day :D**_

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><p><strong>Chapter Eleven: December 1977: Thoughts<strong>

"Up until the moment people started panicking because of the killer snowman, James and I were actually having a really good time."

Assi grinned at Lily's nonchalant tone. She wasn't fooling her and from the grin Brianna was trying to hide, she wasn't fooling her either.

"Does that mean that next time he asks you out you'll accept?" Assi asked, ignoring the paper she was suppose to be writing. She rested her chin on her hand and simply stared at Lily.

Lily continued writing her paper without looking up. "You don't know that he'll ask me out again, Sophia."

Assi snorted. "This is James we're talking about, Lily. He'll ask you out the next time he sees you. So what are you going to tell him?"

Lily shrugged and tucked her bright red hair behind her ears.

"Is that a yes?" Assi asked with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

She blushed and whispered, "I think so."

"Yes!" Assi shouted and jumped up from her seat.

"Sophia!" Lily hissed as Brianna pulled her back down into her seat.

"Madam Pince will throw us out if you do that again!" Brianna warned just as the woman of the hour came barreling around a stack of books.

Assi ducked her head and acted as if she were writing on the blank parchment in front of her. To be honest, she wasn't even sure what she was suppose to be writing so instead she began to draw little swirling shapes in an attempt to look as if she were actually doing something.

"She's gone." Lily said with a sigh of relief a few moments later.

Assi leaned back and sighed. Then she turned back towards Lily, a wide grin still on her face, "So, Lily, you and James, huh?"

Lily's eyes sparkled, "So, Sophia, you and Sirius, huh?"

Assi raised a brow. Wasn't that suppose to be a known fact?

"While I really do think you and Sirius are perfect together," Lily said as she started to pack her things. "I think it's a bit too convenient that your relationship basically pushed James and I together." She turned and narrowed her clever emerald eyes at Assi, "So, be honest Sophia, _is_ there anything between you and Sirius?"

Assi bit her lip. While she didn't want to lie to Lily, Assi wasn't too sure what to tell her. While there _technically_ wasn't anything between them, she couldn't help but wonder…

"No," she told Lily with a shake of her head. "There's nothing between us."

"Do you want there to be?" Brianna asked from Assi's other side.

"No…" she told them hesitantly.

Lily rolled her eyes and stood up. "You should give it a chance."

Assi began shoving her things into her bag. "Relationships and I aren't suited for each other." she told them matter-of-factly.

Lily shrugged. "You don't really know until you try."

"Good luck," Brianna told her with a smile as they both headed towards the library's exit.

_Should I…? _Assi shook her head. No. That was a bad idea.

She wasn't going to risk everything for something she already knew wasn't going to work.

Assi grabbed her bag and left the library.

Besides, Sirius didn't want a relationship.

Assi began playing with her ring as her mind wandered.

"Sophia?"

Assi turned around in surprise when she heard her name being called.

She immediately relaxed at the sight of Riordan walking towards her.

"Coming to visit me were you?" He told her with a cocky grin.

Assi frowned and looked around her. She was in the west side of the castle. Where Ravenclaw Tower was located.

Ravenclaw Tower.

Fate had warned her to stay away but Assi hadn't needed the warning.

She grabbed Riordan's arm, and began walking away as quickly as she could without outright running.

"Where are we going?" Riordan asked, getting winded from Assi's desperate pace.

"Outside," Assi told him with a shaky smile.

Assi breathed a sigh of relief when they reached the fresh air.

She'd made it.

She was safe.

"What were we running from?" Riordan asked, breathless beside her.

"Nothing," Assi assured him, letting go of his arm and fixing the strap of her bag on her shoulder.

Riordan gave her a narrowed eyed look before shrugging and taking a hold of her hand.

Assi stiffened and turned towards him.

Riordan was looking down at her hand in his. "Tell me the truth about you and Black."

"We're dating." Assi replied automatically.

Riordan tightened his hold on her. "Then why were you looking for me?"

"I wasn't looking for you." She told him, trying to pull her hand away.

"Then what were you doing near Ravenclaw Tower?" Riordan asked pulling her towards him.

Assi was very tempted to knee him into impotency but she contained herself by gritting her teeth.

"That was an accident. I was distracted and didn't realize where I was going." Assi told him pulling back.

"And leading me to a secluded place? Was that an accident too?" he asked pulling her closer.

Assi looked around and cursed. They were completely alone.

Riordan grinned and pressed his lips against hers.

Assi's eyes widened in surprise and she gave in to her original response.

She kneed him.

Riordan doubled over and held himself.

"What was that for!" Riordan groaned in pain, glaring at Assi.

"I'm with Sirius. Not you." Assi told him simply as she began to walk away.

"You and I both know its not gonna last," Riordan yelled after her.

Assi ignored him and kept walking. She knew Riordan was right. She just didn't like hearing it out loud. And not from someone as presumptuous as Riordan.

She didn't head towards Gryffindor Tower. She needed solitude. And there was only one place where she could get it.

* * *

><p>"Hey Moony," Sirius greeted as Remus walked into the common room.<p>

"Where's your other half?" Remus asked as he sat in the chair in front of him, watching the card game Sirius and Peter were playing.

"Studying with Brianna and Lily," Sirius said placing a card on the growing pile.

Remus frowned. "Brianna just told me she should be with you."

Sirius looked over at Remus in surprise. "I haven't seen her since lunch. Are you sure she isn't with Lily?"

Remus shook his head. "Head duties."

Sirius gave his cards to Remus, "I'll go look for her."

He shook his head at Sirius, "I'm sure she's fine. I just needed to ask her about a potion's assignment."

Sirius shrugged and walked out of the common room.

He'd feel better knowing she really was alright.

"Black," The Storyteller called out as soon as he stepped out of the portrait hole.

"What do _you_ want, Russo?" Sirius asked with annoyance.

The Storyteller grinned. "Sophia."

Sirius growled and bared his teeth menacingly towards him, feeling instantly territorial.

Sophia was _his_ and he damn well wouldn't give her up without a fight.

Russo smirked. "She already knows I'm a good kisser. How long do you think it'll take before she leaves you?"

Sirius walked over to him and stopped only a breath away from Russo. "Stay away from her." he told him, his voice low and his eyes cold.

Russo's eyes widened slightly and he took an automatic step back. He cleared his throat and gave Sirius a wobbly yet still cocky smirk, "Fine but I can't promise _she'll_ stay away from me."

Sirius took another step towards him but The Storyteller quickly walked away.

Sirius shook his head and went in search of Sophia but a thought kept pushing for his attention.

When had Sophia kissed Russo?

* * *

><p>Assi jumped and nearly spilled the jar full of mandrake root into the bubbling caldron.<p>

"You should be more careful," Fate said as she took a seat in the stool in front of Assi's lab table. "That concoction could have exploded with so much mandrake root."

Assi rolled her eyes. She knew and it wasn't as if she could control an instinctual reaction.

"I'm surprised you're here." Assi said instead, putting back the jar on a nearby shelf.

Fate waved Assi's comment away. "You've been doing just fine without me. But I just thought you should be aware that Sirius Black is searching for you."

Assi frowned. "Why?"

"You would have to ask him." Fate told her simply.

Assi stirred the potion and placed a freezing spell on it so that she could finish it later.

"I'll finish it now so that you won't worry about it." Fate said, unfreezing the potion with barely a flick of her wrist.

Assi smiled in thanks and headed towards the door.

"Head left!" Fate called after her as she left the Room of Requirement.

Assi did what she was told and a moment later, rounded the corner and saw Sirius on a few feet from her.

Fate really did have the best timing.

"Fifi," Sirius said in surprise when he saw her.

Assi smiled. "Looking for me?" she couldn't help but ask.

Sirius stopped in front of her and frowned, "How did you know?"

Assi shrugged. "Just a guess."

"Oh." He commented, his frown still in place as he seemingly studied her.

Assi tilted her head in question.

He wasn't usually so serious.

"What's-" Assi began but gasped in surprise when Sirius's lips met hers suddenly.

His hands cradled her face as his lips began to move against hers and Assi couldn't stop her eyelids from fluttering close and kissing him back.

Sirius pulled back and gave her a dazzling grin.

Assi simply stared at him in a daze, still reeling from his kiss.

Merlin! He sure knew how to kiss.

Sirius casually threw his arm around her shoulders and began leading her towards Gryffindor Tower, as if nothing had happened.

After a few steps Assi's mind finally caught up with her. She stopped and turned to Sirius, an eyebrow raised while she waited for an explanation.

Sirius turned towards her sheepishly and shrugged. "Hello?"

Assi simply stared at him, crossing her arms in front of her.

Sirius sighed. "I wanted to remind you that I was still your boyfriend."

Assi frowned in confusion. "I never forgot."

Sirius grinned again with what looked like smug satisfaction.

Assi cleared her throat, unexpectedly shy, "Was there another reason you were looking for me?"

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side as he began walking her back the way he came. "Moony was searching for you about some potions paper or something."

Assi nodded and they walked back to the common room together, Sirius telling her a story about causing Remus's caldron to explode during their Potions third year class.

Assi laughed and relaxed against Sirius.

She loved moments like this.

"Why did you make _his_ cauldron blow up?" Assi asked, knowing full well that most Gryffindors had classes with Slytherins.

"I was actually aiming for his partner, who happened to be a Slytherin but Slughorn changed his mind at the last moment and paired him up with Lily." Sirius cringed at the idea of being responsible for Lily's exploding cauldron. "Moony was definitely the lesser of two evils. Besides Prongs was already all sappy after Lily by then and I didn't want to purposely ruin his chances with her."

"Well, thanks to the effectiveness of our exceptional plan, Lily has finally decided to agree to go out with James. On an official date." Assi told him, grinning.

"Really?" Sirius asked in shock. "Our plan actually worked? Even with Frosty ruining everything?"

Assi shrugged and nodded. "So it would seem."

"Wow," Sirius breathed, apparently stunned.

Assi frowned when she noticed his thoughtful expression. "Sirius?"

"Huh?" He asked, snapping out of his thoughts and turning his attention towards her.

"Aren't you happy?" she couldn't help but ask, completely confused by his reaction.

Sirius gave her a soft smile and nodded, "I'm thrilled. I was just thinking."

"About?" Assi asked him, curious as to what could take him away from being proud of finally having Lily and James together.

"Until they're officially together, I think we should keep acting as if we're a couple." he told her. But hurriedly added, "Just in case they have a fight or something before they give it an actual chance."

Assi studied him.

She honestly doubted that anything could come between Lily and James now and she really should tell him about Lily already knowing she had been set up but…

"I think you're right. Backup is always a smart idea."

Sirius grinned in obvious relief.

She couldn't help but grin back. At least this meant that they had a bit more time together before they had to return to reality. A reality where they both knew being friends, and only friends, was for the best.


	13. Chapter 12: Prisioners

_**Alright, so the last chapter was actually the last chapter I had been able to write in advanced and was therefore able to edit and all that wonderfully dull stuff. This one, however, I just wrote today. Which means it hasn't been edited or even really looked over yet. So if you would please let me know if there is any major grammatical or spelling error, I'd really appreciate it. Thank you and I hope you enjoy this Draco filled chapter! ;D**_

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><p><strong>Chapter Twelve: December 1997: Prisoners<strong>

Draco watched as two grubby Snatchers entered the dining room where Draco, his mother, and aunt were eating dinner. One carried a small unconscious person thrown over his shoulder while the other one picked his teeth with one of his dirty nails.

Draco scowled at them. Filthy Snatchers.

"Perfect!" his aunt Bellatrix grinned and jumped out of her seat.

She slinked over to the Snatcher holding the person and, grabbing a fistful of silver blonde hair she lifted the unconscious girl's head and Draco had to suppress a wince. Not just at the bruises and cuts on her pale face but because of who she was.

It was Looney Luna Lovegood.

While he'd never really cared one way or another about her, he'd known her for years. He'd seen her roaming the halls, usually looking for her shoes with a dreamy expression. Sure she'd hung around Potter and his friends but she'd also been Leli's friend too. And after a while, since she usually seemed to be around Assi, she'd sort of become his… acquaintance as well. Oh, he wouldn't go so far as to say they'd been friends, he wasn't the type of person to have friends. Luna was a peer who he felt comfortable around enough to tolerate her presence. But even his tolerance was only granted because of her connection to Leli.

How was he going to tell her his aunt had gotten her hands on Luna?

Bellatrix cackled in glee and let go of her hair. "Pettigrew!" she screeched.

Peter Pettigrew, the mousy little coward that he was, quickly raced into the room. Either from eagerness to do his aunt's bidding or fearful of what would happen if he was quick enough, Draco couldn't say. He suspected it was both with a heaping dose of the latter.

His aunt waved at Luna, "Take her to the dungeon!"

_Another prisoner._ Draco thought morosely as he watched to Snatcher hand her over to Pettigrew.

Luna would be joining the wand-maker Ollivander and his aunt's goblin in the dungeon. For now, at least. He hoped she would be one of the lucky ones and be kept only as a prisoner. But that all depended on why she was here.

"Good lot to be rid of her. Put up a struggle, that one did. Finally managed to knock her out with a blow to the head." The Snatcher that hadn't been carrying Luna complained. Then he looked at his aunt expectantly.

"What are you still doing here? You delivered the girl. Go." Aunt Bellatrix told them, waving them away dismissingly while she returned to the dinner that had been interrupted.

One of the grubby Snatchers quickly backed away towards the door. The other, the one that had spoken, narrowed his cold brown eyes at his aunt and crossed his arms. Making it clear he wasn't going anywhere. "We deserve a reward for bringing the girl."

Draco leaned back in his chair. This prick had hurt one of the only people he could stand and put her in unbelievable danger bringing her here. What he _deserved_ was the pain his aunt was about to inflict on him for being an overconfident bastard.

As expected, his aunt reacted quickly and viciously. She cast a paralyzing charm, catching the Snatcher in his stubborn stance but his eyes were now wide and fearful. Then, taking her favorite dagger out of one of her dress's secret pockets, she approached him with a grin. "You want a reward?" she asked him softly as she walked around him, dragging her dagger's blade lightly across his neck.

She stopped in front of him and Draco's smirk dropped. He suddenly just wanted his aunt to let him go. He didn't care about making the Snatcher pay.

Aunt Bellatrix ran her blade across the Snatcher's cheek, hard enough to break skin but not hard enough to deeply wound. She was going for fright first. She always did.

The Snatcher's eyes were now dewy with tears and fear.

"You think you deserve a _reward_ for following the Dark Lord's wishes? _Especially_ after keeping him waiting for so long?" Bellatrix snarled, pressing the blade deeper, so deep Draco heard the scrape of the knife against the Snatcher's jaw bone.

Draco couldn't look at the scream of pain that would be reflected in the Snatcher's eyes. But he couldn't turn away in disgust like he so wanted to.

He couldn't show his weaknesses in this house. He wouldn't survive if he did.

Draco looked behind the frozen man to where Pettigrew cowered with eyes glued to the torturous scene in front of him.

Merlin, Draco despised that rat.

Completely and utterly loathed him. He was the reason the Dark Lord had returned.

The grotesque coward before him was the one to blame. And Draco knew full well it had been Pettigrew who had whispered in the Dark Lord's ear, saying a student would be the best weapon against Dumbledore. And what better student than Lucius's son?

How was it Draco's fault that his father had treated Pettigrew like scum in school? Did it matter that in that particular case he was utterly innocent?

Of course it hadn't. In the wizarding world it seemed, the sins of the father are always paid for by the son.

Pettigrew thought Draco didn't know he'd been the instigator in his initiating into the Death Eaters. He thought he'd fail and Pettigrew could take his father's place beside the Dark Lord when his entire family fell in disgrace. He hadn't planned on Draco succeeding or Narcissa overhearing his words.

That conniving rat was trickier than people realized. Beneath his cowardly exterior beat the heart of a ruthless opportunist. One that knew how to throw anyone in his way down and get ahead with the minimum damage done to him. He'd even backstabbed everyone who cared for him in order to get the Dark Lord's protection and bask in the spoils.

Draco wondered if he could ever be that ruthless. He thought of his mother and of Leli. But he couldn't think of anyone else who he knew actually cared about him. His father? No, he cared only for himself. And Aunt Bellatrix? She would slit his throat in a heartbeat if the Dark Lord wished it. Blaise? Crabbe? Goyle? Pansy? The other Slytherins? Draco snorted to himself. Any respect and loyalties made were tied to how much one could gain from the connection. No, none of them cared for him and he cared for none of them.

His Godfather? Draco paused as he thought about Snape. Sometimes Draco would swear he was just like his Aunt but most times, his Godfather simply seemed lost. Especially when he thought no one was looking. He looked almost as if he were in mourning. Draco couldn't even say it was because of Dumbledore because his Godfather had been that way for as long as he could remember. No, his Godfather didn't care for him. Draco wasn't even sure he could care for anyone, not even the Dark Lord. Not even himself.

Draco mentally shook himself and thought of anyone else who might care. Perhaps the acquaintances he'd made through Leli? Assi? Perhaps… At least he hoped she did. He'd grown rather fond of Leli's obnoxious sister her who never passed an opportunity to tease and annoy. Even when Leli wasn't there. Yes. Perhaps Assi. Though definitely not Potter or Weasley. But perhaps Luna? Maybe even Granger and the Weaslette? No, he had a feeling they tolerated him for Leli's sake and for that alone. There was too many years of bad blood between them to heal in only a few months.

So, throughout his entire existence he could only come up with two, maybe three, people who cared about him?

Draco shrugged to himself. He could happily live with that.

And there was no way he could do what Pettigrew had done. Never. He couldn't intentionally hurt them for some selfish reason.

Draco heard a _thud_ and looked to where the Snatcher had been. But he was there no longer. Now he lay whimpering in a puddle of blood at his aunt's feet.

"Now leave!" Bellatrix screeched at him, giving him a kick when he was too slow to get up and out.

"Why did you have them bring the Lovegood girl, Bella?" his mother asked from beside him.

Draco looked over to see his mother sitting straight in her chair while she put her fork on her barely touched plate, if not for her slightly shaking hand and green tinged skin, he'd think she hadn't been affected by the scene.

His mother wasn't cut out for this life either. But she was a first rate actress, and other than Draco, no one knew how queasy and shaky the sight of blood actually made her feel.

"To shut Lovegood up, of course." Bellatrix told them as she casually began to eat her half-eaten dinner, as if nothing had happened. "He has started to preach obscenities in his rag of a magazine and the Dark Lord wanted him quieted. The girl is insurance."

Draco relaxed marginally. This was good. As long as Lovegood stayed quiet Luna wouldn't be hurt. She'd be a prisoner, but she'd be safe. Draco had been worried that she knew something about where the Golden Trio might be and would have to be questioned. That would've been bad.

She would be safe now. As long as she didn't know anything and her father stopped writing, Draco could make sure she was taken care of. Discretely at least. He could make sure Pettigrew and the other Death Eaters didn't decide to use her as a curse dummy the way they had other prisoners. A whispered word here and there would make sure the Death Eaters kept their place. He'd still keep an eye on them and have Gila do the same, but he was relatively confident he could keep her safe. At least from the other Death Eaters. There was nothing he could do about his aunt, though. He just hoped Luna would stay quiet and invisible, then, hopefully, his aunt would forget she even existed.

Draco distracted himself with thoughts of who would be the best one to whisper to while he played with his food and occasionally taking a bite, to seem as if he was eating even though he could barely keep his food down. When his aunt and mother decided to head to the sitting room for tea, Draco declined their invitation and instead hurried towards his room.

He hoped Leli wouldn't be there. Even though he wished she would.

After that day in Diagon Alley, Draco had finally admitted how awful things were. He'd refused to go to Sanctuary with her when she'd offered. Even though she'd included his mother, he couldn't. As much as he hated it here, he knew that if he suddenly disappeared people would start asking too many questions and someone was bound to mention how similar his disappearance was to that of Dumbledore's daughters. And that would turn too much attention onto Leli and her sister, which was something he refused to do.

They'd argued about it for a long while before Draco finally convinced Leli that when it came to her, he wasn't changing his mind.

Then she'd proposed her ludicrously dangerous plan and Draco had immediately said no. Apparently, to Leli's mind, since he'd won one argument it was her turn. Which meant she'd narrowed her blue-green eyes at him and told him she wasn't asking. She was telling him what they were going to do since he refused Sanctuary.

After that no matter how many times he'd said no she'd ignored him and went ahead with it anyways.

Draco opened his bedroom door and took a seat at his desk's chair, deciding he might as well look though his book on defensive magic. These days, you could never be to careful.

He was immersed in a particularly intricate spell, that done right would be very useful, when he heard a loud _pop!_

Draco turned towards the sound to see Leli walking towards him.

"Good evening," she greeted him casually as she straddled him on his chair.

Draco automatically wrapped his arms around her, absurdly happy to have her near him. He scowled at her. "I said no."

Leli shrugged. "Too bad." She gave him her usual grin and leaned forward to kiss him.

When her lips met his he couldn't help but pull her closer.

She pulled back far sooner than he would've liked but he still let her go. He still had to tell her about Luna.

"You shouldn't be here," he told her instead.

Leli wiggled in his lap and grinned. "If I wasn't here than who would help you out with your little problem?"

Draco looked at her indignantly. Did she just call him _little_?

Leli laughed knowing what he was thinking without him having to speak out loud. "I was speaking metaphorically, Draco."

"I'm not _little_ metaphorically, either." he growled and just to prove his point, he lifted his hips and ground himself against her.

She moaned. He smirked.

Leli rolled her eyes at him.

"It's not safe for you to be here, Leli." Draco told her seriously. "This is You-Know-Who's residence of choice. Death Eaters are always swarming this place. What if someone decides to come into my room? It's not safe."

Leli lifted her hands to his forehead and started massaging his temples. Draco closed his eyes with a sigh. She "I know. I have Gila as look-out and unless she tells me its safe, I won't come. She's also keeping an eye out and is ready to whisk me right back to Sanctuary at a moment's notice. And there's also different privacy and locking charms on your door so no one can hear us or come in without your permission. I know I'm not absolutely safe here, Draco, but I _am_ prepared."

"Besides," she gave him a slow, heated kiss. She pulled away again and Draco groaned. He _really _hadn't wanted that to end.

She gave him a saucy smile. "I want to be able to do that whenever I want."

Draco brushed a lock of wandering hair behind her ear and just studied her.

He loved this stubborn female. As insane as it was too believe it was true. He was utterly in love with her.

Which is why he hated every time he saw her here. She mattered too much to him for him to allow her to be so reckless with her safety.

He almost smiled at the thought of simply telling her he forbid it and that was that.

That wouldn't end well for him. Of that he was positive. She was too independent to be told what to do.

Draco sighed. He was never going to win this argument. And while he was never going to give up, hoping she saw reason, he was willing to give up for tonight.

Leli must've seen the resignation in his gaze because she quickly stood up and started walking towards his bed. She threw him a smile over her shoulder as she slid out of her navy shirt. "Coming, Draco?"

Draco smirked and, standing up, began to undress as he casually walked towards her.

He hadn't forgotten her "little" comment from earlier and he was most definitely going to prove what a lie that comment was.


	14. Chapter 13: A Christmas Present

**Chapter Thirteen: December 1977: A Christmas Present**

Sirius sat up in his bed when he heard the door to his dorm room open.

No one should be coming in here. Everyone had gone home for the holidays and since Mr. and Mrs. Potter were going on some cruise or something this winter, Sirius and James had both decided to stay at Hogwarts. But only Sirius had stayed.

Lily had invited James to meet her family and James had nearly squealed with joy and immediately accepted her invitation. Which meant James would be gone for most of the break.

The only other friend of his who had stayed for the holidays was…

"Fifi?" Sirius asked groggily as the robed figure slipped into the moonlit room.

She pushed back the hood of her robes and gave him a smile.

"Are you ready for your present, Sirius?" she asked him, her voice a sexy murmur as she glided towards his bed, her hips swaying provocatively as her hands slowly began to part her robe.

Sirius swallowed, his throat suddenly dry at the thought of what lay beneath her robes.

He nodded. He was more than ready for this. He'd been ready since the first time he'd seen her.

Sophia grinned and dropped her robe.

Sirius inhaled sharply.

Merlin, she was stunning.

He let his gaze travel over her slowly. Her silky fair skin was absolutely mouthwatering and the fact that she was wearing _nothing at all_ gave him the perfect opportunity to look his fill.

His eyes locked onto the amethyst pendant that hung between her breasts. He'd given her that necklace for Christmas. The Sirius galaxy was engraved onto the front of the jewel and proved to all who saw it that she was _his_. And _only_ his.

That thought brought a groan bubbling up his throat.

"Sirius…" she whispered, her hand touching his shoulder.

"Sophia," Sirius growled and reached towards her pulling her forward and crashing her lips against his.

She gasped in surprise and her hands landed on his shoulders in an attempt to keep her balance.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and flipped her over so that she was laying beneath him.

She finally got over her shock and kissed him back.

Sirius grinned against her lips and ran his hands up her waist. He scowled at the sheets that were in his way from touching her skin.

Sophia pushed against his chest as his fingers started seeking the edge of the sheet.

"Sirius," Sophia said, breathlessly.

"Hmm?" He asked as he let his lips trail across her neck.

"Sirius!" Sophia said insistently, pushing against his chest again.

Sirius leaned back in order to see her.

He hoped she wasn't having second thoughts.

She was breathing heavily, and her skin was flushed a rosy hue.

Sirius leaned down to kiss her irresistible lips once again, but stopped at the surprise in her wide violet eyes.

He shook his head and leaned back further, noticing for the first time that she wasn't wrapped up in his sheets, but instead in her clothes.

How could she change so quickly? Was she having second thoughts?

Sirius looked at her curiously, "Fifi?"

"I-I-" she stuttered, "Y- your present."

Sirius gave her a wicked grin that made her eyes darken. "What about my present?" he asked her huskily as he let his weight settle onto her.

Sophia licked her lips and Sirius locked onto her kiss-swollen mouth.

"You should get dressed," Sophia rushed on, "We need to leave soon."

"Leave?" Sirius asked, blinking in confusion. Why would he want to leave when she was in his bed?

Sophia nodded hurriedly, "For your present. We need to go."

He looked at her bewilderment. What was she talking about? "Aren't _you_ my present?" he asked before he realized what he had said.

Sophia stared at him in shock.

He was suddenly very aware that he was lying on top of her. He scrambled off the bed and looked at her, eyes wide as he realized he must've been mixing dream with reality.

Sirius looked away and rubbed the back of his neck worriedly.

"I'll just get dressed then," he told her after clearing his throat uncomfortably.

He turned around and started looking for his clothes. He was acutely aware of her moving off his bed and standing behind him.

He wanted so badly to turn around and kiss her, he could taste it.

"I'll meet you downstairs," she told him before he could act impulsively.

Sirius sighed in a mixture of relief and disappointment when he heard her close the dormitory door behind her.

He'd have given almost anything not to have been dreaming.

* * *

><p>Assi fidgeted as she waited for Sirius to be ready.<p>

She'd thought he'd been having a nightmare when she snuck into his room and heard him groan.

Oh boy, had she been wrong.

If his kiss was any indication he'd been having a _very_ good dream before she'd tried to wake him.

One that was apparently about her.

Assi bit her lip and fingered the silver chain that now rested against her neck.

What was she suppose to do about this? Should she even do anything?

"Fifi?" Sirius called from behind her.

Assi jumped and turned around. She hadn't expected him to change so quickly.

"Ready?" she asked him nervously.

Sirius nodded and gave her an awkward grin.

"Let's go then," she told him and walked out of the common room, knowing he would follow.

"Where are we going?" Sirius asked, matching his pace to hers as he stepped beside her.

Assi gave him a wink and a grin, ignoring his question as she kept walking.

"You're not going to tell me are you?" Sirius asked her with a smirk.

Assi shook her head and led him to the one-eyed witch statue.

"How did you even know this was here?" Sirius frowned as he followed her through the secret passage to Honeydukes.

"A little bird told me," she answered with a shrug. Actually, it was a little elf. One of the Sanctuary's elves had told her about the secret passageways when she'd first gone to Hogwarts. After all, there were no secrets kept from the elves.

"Come on," she whispered, grabbing his hand and leading him through the trap door as quickly and quietly as she could.

Assi led him out of the closed Honeydukes into the darkened streets of Hogsmeade. It was still dark out and they were the only ones walking along the empty streets.

"What time is it?" Sirius whispered as they crept along another building.

Assi shrugged, "About one in the morning."

He looked at her in shock, "Why are we up this early?" She simply replied with another shrug that caused him to sigh in frustration.

When they reached the edge of Hogsmeade Assi turned to him and grinned. "Close your eyes."

Sirius frowned at her. "Why?"

Assi rolled her eyes, "Just do it."

He shrugged and closed his eyes, still holding onto Assi's hand.

Assi closed her own eyes and thought of where she wanted to go, picturing the location perfectly in her mind. Once she knew where she willed her body there.

"Whoa," Sirius breathed in surprise as they apparated beside a building. "Couldn't give me a little warning there, Fifi?"

"What would be the fun in that?" Assi laughed, pulling him onto the crowded street and leading him to their destination.

"Where are we?" Sirius yelled above the loud bustling sidewalk.

"New York," Assi replied, grinning at his surprised expression. Sirius immediately began studying his surrounding, as if he were trying to absorb all the sights and sounds at once.

Assi was thrilled at how much he seemed to be enjoying the crowded New York atmosphere but she was confused as to where exactly their destination was located. She'd been here before with Leli and Dad but that had been about twenty years from now. A lot of things change in twenty years.

She remembered her Dad saying how much he loved the lights of New York and that no matter what year it was there were places in New York that would never change. Classics.

Now if she could only find a classic in order to orient herself, she'd be elated.

"Prongs would kill to see this," Sirius murmured as he watched two muggles dressed in full white body armor walk in front of them and quickly make their way forward.

Then again, one should always follow the locals. Assi grinned and followed them, dragging Sirius behind her.

When they reached a long line with plenty of people dressed in various costumes, Assi breathed a sigh of relief. They'd made it.

"I feel underdressed," Sirius mumbled as another armored individual walked by them.

"Would you a costume as well?" Assi asked, trying to hold back her laughter.

Sirius's contemplative look, however, completely overpowered her reserve and she burst out laughing. She could just imagine him dressed up.

"Why are they banging their wands together?" he asked, completely ignoring Assi's laughter.

Her laughter suddenly became hysterical at the question and the phrasing.

Sirius looked down at her in confusion, "Why are you laughing? it's a serious question."

Assi bit her lip and turned towards the two teenagers a few feet in front of them who were indeed sparing with "wands."

"I've never seen a wand that color," Sirius mumbled to himself thoughtfully, "or that big."

"They're toys, Sirius, not wands." Assi told him grinning widely.

Sirius shrugged and continued to study the other characters in line, often asking Assi a random question or making a bewildered comment.

Assi would simply answer his questions as obscurely as possible or nod at his comments. Seeing Sirius so out of his element really was the best type of entertainment.

When the line started moving, Assi's grin grew impossibly wider and she pulled a puzzled Sirius along.

"What type of creature are you?" Sirius asked the man behind them.

The man was wearing a large hairy suit that Sirius seemed to think was natural. When the man simply gurgled and growled in return Sirius gave him a look and turned towards Assi.

"Don't worry, Sirius, you'll find out soon." Assi replied patting his arm as she led him into the building.

* * *

><p>"That was a strange act of magic. I've never heard of "the force" before." Sirius said as they walked out of the building together.<p>

Sophia laughed as she wrapped her arms around his, "That's because its fiction, Sirius. Not magic."

Sirius looked at her with a frown, "But it looked real."

She shrugged, "It was make believe. An illusion."

"Really?" He asked her dubiously. That long talking picture had certainly looked real. If it was only an illusion then it was a very good one, not to mention creatively thought out.

Sophia nodded her head confidently.

He supposed he'd just have to take her word for it then. He trusted her after all and she _did_ seem to know more about muggles then he did.

"Let's grab a hotdog!" she said excitedly as she started dragging him towards a little mobile stand.

"Why do you want a hot dog?" Sirius asked as they approached.

"Because they're delicious," Sophia replied evenly, asking the man waiting behind the stand for two hotdogs.

Sirius looked at her in shock, "That's barbaric! You actually _eat_ dogs!" How could anyone every do something so absolutely cruel and _inhumane_? Weren't they suppose to be "man's best friend"? How long had people begun to eat the poor creatures? In his opinion, the act itself was cannibalistic. His Animagus was, after all, a dog.

Sophia simply laughed at his obvious disgust.

Sirius frowned at her in disapproval. As much as he liked Sophia, there was no way he could associate himself with a canine cannibal.

He supposed he'd just have to change her mind somehow.

"Its cruel to eat dogs." Sirius told her plainly, crossing his arms in front of his chest as the vendor handed her two items wrapped in aluminum foil.

"Sirius," Sophia rolled her eyes and tried to hand him one of the wrapped items, "They're not actually dogs. They're sausages placed between two pieces of bread."

Sirius cautiously took one of the items and watched as Sophia peeled off its wrappings and took a bite out of the "hot dog."

Sophia moaned, obviously taking great pleasure in her snack.

Sirius felt his mouth water at the sight of her. He cleared his throat when he realized he had completely forgotten about the food and had been watching her instead.

"Take a bite Sirius. Trust me, you'll love it." she told him with a smile.

Sirius looked down at his hot dog and shrugged.

He trusted her and he didn't think she had any reason to lie to him.

Sirius took a bite and sighed in delight. This was absolutely delicious.

"You were right," Sirius told her, a rueful smile playing on his lips.

"I always am," Sophia grinned as she gave him a wink.

* * *

><p>It was late at night when they finally returned to Hogwarts and both of them were happily exhausted.<p>

"Great Christmas present, Fifi." Sirius told her as he led her through the common room and towards the girl's staircase.

Sophia gave him a stunning smile. Before they reached the stairs, Sirius pulled her to a stop and stepped in front of her.

He cupped her face in his hands and slowly leaned down, never taking his eyes from her wide violet ones.

Sirius stopped a breath away from her lips. In all the times they'd kissed, he'd always surprised her, never really giving her a chance to reject him. But this time he wanted it to be her choice. This time would be different.

Lily and James were as official as they could be and even if they weren't Sirius was tired of using them as an excuse.

He wanted Sophia. Screw everything else. He wanted her. He didn't care that he was tying himself down so young. He didn't care that he wouldn't be able to take a pick of the pups whenever he felt like it. He no longer had any desire to.

Sirius had no idea when he'd figured it out but it was the simple truth. He just wanted his Fifi and nothing else really mattered.

She was studying him intently and Sirius hoped she could read his thoughts in his eyes. Because the truth was, now that he'd decided she was his. He wasn't giving up on her.

If she rejected him right now he'd simply gather his wounded pride and try again in the morning. And every day after until he had her.

He wasn't James Potter's best friend for nothing. They were a lot alike and just like James never gave up on his Lily neither would Sirius.

Sophia's thoughts must have ran in the same direction as his because he saw a glimmer of mirth in her eyes before she leaned the rest of the way forward and pressed her lips against his.

The kiss was far too chaste for his liking, but before he had a chance to deepen it she pulled away and headed towards the stairs.

Sirius grinned after her, "Good night, Fifi."

She threw him a smile over her shoulder then disappeared from his view.

He wasn't completely sure what that quick kiss had meant but he couldn't wait until he found out tomorrow.


	15. Chapter 14: The Couch

**Chapter Fourteen: January 1978: The Couch**

Assi raced down the stairs, wondering how it had happened that she had woken up two hours late. She never woke up late. She rarely slept, actually.

She skidded to a halt at the bottom of the girl's staircase and frowned in confusion.

Lily was just standing in front of the fireplace, tapping her foot in annoyance with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Her sharp emerald stare was glaring at Sirius, who was sitting on one of the nearby chairs, his head lowered and gaze averted. And James, Sirius's best friend and primary accomplice in most situations, was looking around with a confused frown.

Assi frowned and looked around too. What had Sirius done to get Lily mad on her first day back from vacation? When a number of things rose to the forefront of her mind, Assi decided to rephrase her own question, what had she _found out _so soon that had gotten her upset?

"I'm waiting Black…" Lily said expectantly in her best imitation of McGonagall.

Sirius just shrugged.

"Dammit Sirius!" Lily stomped her foot in exasperation, "Where in Merlin's shaggy gray beard is the couch?"

A snicker escaped Assi before she managed to cover her mouth with her hands, hoping Lily hadn't heard.

Too late, she realized as Lily turned her stare towards her.

"Sophia," Lily started calmly as she walked over to Assi. Lily wrapped her arm around Assi's so that she wouldn't escape and then asked sweetly, "Where is the couch?"

Assi's gaze flew to Sirius's panicked one.

She shrugged. "McGonagall assured us we'd get a replacement before classes start."

Lily's arm tightened it's hold on Assi's. "What happened to the first one?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"Oh never mind that!" Assi assured her with a wave of her hand, "How was your break? Did your parents like James?"

"They loved me!" James said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Of course they did," Sirius grinned in return, relief evident in his voice. "Did you show them any spells or was it all very Muggle?"

"Well, it was all very Muggle, until…" James trailed off with an apologetic smile towards Lily.

"What happened?" Assi asked, honestly interested and hoping it was a long enough story that Lily forgot about the couch.

Lily sighed, let go of Assi, and walked over to James, taking a seat on the armrest. "James and Petunia's fiancé got into a dispute."

Assi flinched, knowing what a sore subject Petunia was to Lily. She walked towards one of the chairs beside Sirius but was simply pulled into his lap before she could reach one.

"What did he do?" Sirius asked, wrapping his arms around Assi and frowning at James. Everyone knew how wound-up James had been after Lily had asked him to meet her parents. He'd been thrilled, certainly, but also incredibly nervous. Assi doubted he'd do anything to jeopardize the good opinion of Lily's parents without reason.

"Vernon was showing off his new car," Lily started.

"And being a total prick about it, too. Saying how it was a new model and had who-knows-what installed and that it was _indecently_ expensive, but he'd just _had _to have it. But that it was all perfectly alright because he was making more than enough money at his new job to cover the expenses." James told them, grimacing in disgust.

Sirius nodded. "So you let him know you weren't light in the pocket either."

Assi frowned at Sirius. He'd said it so matter-of-factly, as if to say 'what else could you do?'

"Yeah," James sighed. "That led to an argument that only ended when the pompous ass left the restaurant."

"After that Petunia said that their was no way I was going to be her bridesmaid and at the wedding, they ignored us the entire time." Lily said, her teary voice resigned.

"I'm sorry, Lily. I shouldn't have argued with the creep." James murmured wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her against him.

Lily sighed and gave James a kiss quick kiss. "It's alright. Petunia just needed an excuse for Mum and Dad. She didn't want me there to begin with."

"Hey people!" Kenny yelled as she sauntered into the room, Peter only a few steps behind her.

"Hey," Lily smiled over at them, "How was your break?"

"Absolutely fantastic!" Kenny grinned and walked over to them. She stopped in front of the fireplace and looked around in confusion.

Assi looked at Sirius and by mutual agreement they jumped out of their seats and ran towards the exit, saying they were going to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Just as the portrait hole closed behind them they could hear Kenny ask, "So what happened to the couch?"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Three Days Earlier…<em>**

Sophia moaned in exaggerated delight as she took a big bite out of her s'more.

She looked over at him and he grinned mischievously. "I bet I could make you moan more than that snack."

Sophia snorted in disbelief, "You can't compare to a good s'more, Sirius."

Sirius leisurely stretched his arms out his arms behind them as they sat together in front of the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room. "Of course not, Fifi. Nothing compares to me." he told her with a wink.

Sophia laughed and stood up. She handed him the rest of her s'more and started walking towards the girl's staircase.

"Hey!" Sirius protested, "its too early to go to sleep."

Sophia rolled her eyes. "I need to change. Don't worry, I'll be down in a minute."

"Into something see-through?" Sirius asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I guess you'll just have to wait and see." She replied with a laugh.

Sirius let his mind wander. He could just see her walking back down the stairs in something positively skimpy and then taking him up to his room where she'd have her wicked way with him…

Sirius sighed. He knew that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Since their day in New York not much had changed between them. Sure he now had full freedom to touch and kiss her whenever he felt like it. (And he always felt like it.) But while he knew she enjoyed it as much as he did, he could tell she was still holding back. And until she let herself go, he had a feeling kissing was as far as their relationship would go.

He could wait. He'd never really had to before since it seemed the pups were always ready for a little fun in the broom closet but this time was different. He wanted more from Sophia which mean he was willing to wait until she gave him the green light.

Sirius took a bite of the s'more in his hand as he thought about how he could maybe hurry her up a little. After all, while he could wait, he was still human and this was the longest dry spell he'd had since fourth year.

He looked down at the s'more as he popped the last bite into his mouth. He had to admit, it was pretty tasty.

Sirius glanced towards the stairs but it seemed Sophia was coming down yet. He looked back at the bag of marshmallows in front of him and the chocolate and graham crackers beside it. Sirius shrugged to himself, he could make himself some more while she was gone. He'd seen her do it and it hadn't looked that hard.

Sirius took a marshmallow, stuck it at the end of the long wooden stick Sophia had gotten and held it over the fire.

He watched as the flames quickly charred the outside of the marshmallow. Sirius grinned and decided to brake off a piece of chocolate and cracker to have it ready for the gooey marshmallow. He broke the cracker easily but had some trouble breaking the chocolate into its perfect square. He yelled in triumph when he finally broke it off and then turned his attention back to the marshmallow… that was now on fire. Along with the end of the stick.

Sirius cursed and took the stick out of the fire. The gooey burned mesh easily slid off of the burning stick before landing on his pants. Sirius threw the stick aside and shot up, hurriedly brushing at the marshmallow that was burning his skin. He finally took his pants off, quicker then he ever hand before and sighed when he saw that his led was only red where the marshmallow had landed, but not burnt.

He caught the scent of burning fabric and looked at his jeans, examining where the marshmallow had fallen but not finding anything burned.

Sirius frowned and looked around for the source of the smell. His eyes widened in horror as he saw he'd thrown the flaming stick onto the couch… Which was now also on fire.

Sirius got up, and began trying to smother the flames with his jeans before he managed to burn down the castle.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit," Sirius muttered as he kept smacking at the fire with his jeans. On the way to another smack, he noticed that now his jeans were on fire too. Sirius panicked and threw them on the floor before stomping on them with his sock clad feet. He took of his shirt and started beating at the fire on the couch again while he continued to stomp on his burning pants.

He fell on his behind when a sudden burst of water landed on the couch and startled him. A moment later another burst landed on his jeans and Sirius breathed in a sigh of relief.

He heard Sophia's unmistakable laugh and glanced towards her. She was leaning against the wall, clutching her stomach as tears threatened her eyes and bouts of laughter escaped her.

For the first time Sirius looked down at himself. His shirt and jeans were both a soggy burned mess and lay beside him. Which meant that he was only wearing underwear that was covered in ash, probably from hitting the burning couch, and socks with the bottoms having been burned by stomping on his jeans.

Sirius shook his head. He was never making another s'more for as long as he lived.

"And Leli said Draco was a mess," Sophia murmured, continuing to laugh.

She walked towards him with only the occasional giggle escaping and sat down beside him. "Did you set your clothes on fire just so you could show off your muscles?" she asked teasingly.

Sirius stood up and flexed in a dramatic pose. "See anything you like?"

Sophia laughed and Sirius grinned.

He pulled Sophia up and gave her one of their breath-stealing kisses. She pulled back and together they looked at the mess Sirius had made out of the couch. An entire side of it was burned down to its metal springs while the other side seemed only charred but relatively unharmed.

"We're going to have to tell McGonagall." Sophia stated unhappily.

Sirius nodded as he continued to examine the couch. He looked over at Sophia and grinned. "Wanna have some fun before we get detention?"

Sophia looked at him curiously. "What type of fun?"

He grinned and ran to his jeans and pulled out his wand, finally remembering he was wizard.

He took the couch and floated it out of the common room and placed it at the top of the staircase.

Sophia followed him curiously while Sirius cast a few more spells, giving the couch four wheels and a steering wheel that came out of the burned end of the couch. Sirius sat sideways on the charred end and patted his lap for Sophia. "Wanna take a ride, Fifi?"

Sophia grinned and made him scoot forward so that she could wrap her arms and legs around him from behind.

He took hold of the steering wheel and pushed against the floor with his foot so that the couch started moving. Sirius laughed and Sophia screamed as the couchcycle raced down the flight of stairs at an alarming rate. Sirius had cursed the wheels so that they would glide over the stairs smoothly and therefore give them extra speed. At the first turn he quickly turned the entire wheel to the side, hoping the couch would be able to drift without hitting anything and barely managed it, the end still hitting the railing and jarring both him and Sophia before they were gaining more speed down another staircase.

They were both having a blast in their improvised rollercoaster until they came to the second to last staircase. The one that decided to move just as they drifted onto it.

This time when Sophia screamed, Sirius joined and together they flew off the end of the staircase and, thanks to that oh so pesky gravity, fell to the waiting floor below with a mind-numbing, teeth-jarring, ear-throbbing bang.

Sirius's hands were glued to the steering wheel as he sat on the couch in shock. He could feel Sophia's heart pounding against his back and he was surprised he could breath with the tight hold she had on him.

"Is this another one of your 'dates'?" they heard an exasperated voice ask from behind them.

Sirius and Sophia both turned around to see McGonagall, dressed in her pajamas walking down the staircase towards them.

"I'm afraid so, Professor." Sophia muttered, disentangling herself from Sirius and shakily standing up. Sirius peeled his hands off the steering wheel and tried to get on his feet but only succeeding on falling back onto the couch since his legs felt like jell-o.

Sophia, deciding she was safer on the ground, sat down on the floor, resting her head on the couch beside Sirius.

"You're ok?" Sirius asked running his fingers through her curls.

Sophia gave him a wobbly grin and nodded. "You?"

Sirius nodded and sat back with a sigh.

"Mr. Black, where is your clothing?" McGonagall asked as she stopped in front of the relieved-to-be-alive pair.

Sirius could feel his face turn red as he realized he hadn't bothered to put on clothes after his had burned.

"And why is the couch burned?" McGonagall asked, her voice rising in disbelief.

"Sirius tried to roast a marshmallow." Sophia told McGonagall simply, her eyes closed as she enjoyed Sirius's fingers in her hair.

Sirius was unbelievably relieved when McGonagall only nodded and didn't ask any more questions. He was even more happy when she produced a blanket and gave it to him so that he could cover up. While Sirius was normally very comfortable with little to no clothes on, being half-naked in front of Professor McGonagall just seemed plain _wrong_.

"Just a few more months, Minerva," he heard McGonagall mutter to herself.

She turned her attention back to them and sighed. "Thirty points from Gryffindor and you will both attend detention for the rest of the year. Now, to bed with the both of you."

"Yes, Professor," they both muttered obediently. They were actually lucky she hadn't just expelled them so detention was going to be no problem. Sirius groaned as he pushed himself off the couch and wrapped the blanket around himself. He helped Sophia to her feet and together they began the long trek back upstairs.

"This stays between us, Fifi," Sirius murmured, wrapping his arm around Sophia and pulling her towards him.

Sophia leaned against him and kissed his jaw. "Just between us... And Professor McGonagall."


	16. Chapter 15: Short On Time

_**I'm really sorry I haven't updated in so long! This is always the busiest time of the year for me and this year was no different. Anyway, as an apology I've posted multiple chapters and can hopefully post at least one more before the end of the week. Enjoy! :)**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Fifteen: February 1978: Short On Time<strong>

"There's been a change in plans." Fate announced as she walked into the Gryffindor common room, ignoring the startled looks she was getting.

"Trivianna? How did you even get in here?" Sirius asked in surprise. He was seated at the other end of the new couch, somewhat studying/mostly playing "catch the jellybeans with only your mouth" with Assi. So far Sirius was winning by two jellybeans. Assi knew he'd cheated with one of them but couldn't actually prove it.

"Time is short." Fate told Assi, motioning for her to follow her out and ignoring Sirius's question before leaving the common room.

Assi gave Sirius a strained smile and quickly followed her out and to the Room of Requirement. She had no idea what Fate was talking about but she knew better than to keep her waiting.

"One month, Assiel. That is all the time you will have left here. You must tell Sirius immediately." Fate told her, her bottomless eyes locked on Assi's the moment the door had closed behind them.

Assi felt the blood freeze in her veins. One month? That's it? Why…?

"Leli!" Assi gasped, "Is she alright?"

"You're sister is fine." Fate told her soothingly. "But the world darkens dangerously each day. The final battle nears and you must arrive before that day comes."

Assi was relieved that Leli was alright but the news that the final battle was getting closer was enough to put anyone on edge.

"Your presence will begin to be erased from this time as soon as you tell Black," Fate explained to Assi, "Once he is told you will no longer have any need to attend classes, your position on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team will belong to someone else and, unless you are seen, people will begin to forget you. Your friends, of course, will be the last to forget but even for them you shall start to fade. And you must let it."

Assi felt her heart ache. She knew she shouldn't have, but she'd grown to care greatly about her friends and now they were going to forget she ever even existed. While she would go forward to a time where she would hear the stories of their deaths and pain.

Assi inhaled a deep breath. She'd known this was going to happen since the beginning. She had known what she was going to have to face. But now that it was about to happen, she wasn't positive she could do it.

"What about Sirius?" she asked Fate, thinking of the reason behind all this. Now, more than ever, she knew Sirius deserved the second chance presented to him.

"His mind shall not be changed until he has made his decision. If he chooses the future his memories will remain intact, if he chooses this time, his memories of you too shall fade."

Assi flinched at that. If he choose to stay she wasn't sure how she would survive. That charming clown had buried himself into her heart. She didn't want him to forget her. But she also knew how much the people of this time meant to him. How could she ask them to leave them behind?

Fate put her hand on Assi's arm comfortingly.

Assi looked into those endless eyes and sighed. There was little she could do now. It was time for life to follow its course and people to choose their paths.

"You must tell him by weekend's end," Fate told her, her voice soft.

Assi flinched. It was already Friday. She had only two days to figure out a way to tell Sirius she came from the future. A future where he and nearly everyone else he knew was dead.

"He needs time to process it fully and then make his choice." Fate explained as soon as Assi started ranting at the unfairness of it to herself.

Assi nodded reluctantly. She didn't like it but that made sense. He should have all the time she could give him. He'd need it.

Fate gave her a smile. "Enjoy these last few days before you decide to tell him."

Assi nodded again as Fate left her with only her worries for company.

When Assi returned to the common room, Sirius found balancing his wand sideways on the tip of his nose.

Assi grinned to herself and sneaked her way behind the couch, staying out of his line of sight.

When she was close enough she leaned towards him and held her breath. Then she bit his earlobe.

Sirius yelped and jumped off of the couch, turning towards her in surprise.

He scowled when he saw her laughing.

Assi shrugged as she walked around the couch. "I had to."

Sirius grinned and pulled her towards him, immediately kissing her until she was breathless.

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "What do you say we skip Charms and have some fun?"

Sirius raised an eyebrow and tightened his hold on her. "What type of fun?"

Assi tilted her head in thought. She could tell by the heat in his gaze exactly what type of fun he was hoping for and she'd always denied him before. She knew denying him again was the smart thing to do. Yet…

"Fifi?" Sirius prompted, drawing her out of her thoughts.

Assi shook her thoughts away. She'd had something else in mind.

She grinned at Sirius conspiratorially. "Valentine's Day is next week."

* * *

><p>"Run faster!" Sirius yelled as he ran as fast as he could, Sophia right beside him.<p>

Sophia chanced a glance behind them and gave a surprised squeak. She turned back around and ran like her life depended on it.

Which it probably did, Sirius decided as he raced to keep up with her.

If the Slytherins on their tail caught them… well, he'd prefer not to think about what they'd do.

"'Let's bring people some Holiday cheer,' she says," Sirius muttered to Sophia, repeating her words as he ran. "'Let's show the castle that Slytherins celebrate Valentine's Day too. It'll be real easy,' she assured. Why in the name of Merlin's low-hanging grey balls did I ever believe you?"

"Because it was a brilliant idea," she replied breathlessly.

Sirius opened his mouth to argue but had to shut it.

She had a point. Her idea had been a one-in-a-million classic and he'd known first hand that she knew the spells to pull it off. They'd even had the perfect plan thought out.

But the first rule of pranking? Never get caught.

And they had.

By none other than that damn big-nosed, greasy-haired, smarmy prick Snivellus.

So Sirius had aimed a punch towards his gigantic nose and then run like hell, pulling a stunned Sophia along.

"This way," Sirius hissed, grabbing her hand and turning towards an empty corridor.

Sirius saw Sophia grin, realizing exactly what he planned to do and absolutely loving the idea.

When they heard yelling and then pounding feet behind them they ran even faster.

Sirius was definitely going to have to thank James the next time he saw him. If it wasn't for his friend's borderline sadistic Quidditch training then they would've never been able to run for so long so fast.

The moment students started heading out of class, Sophia pushed Sirius towards a small niche hidden behind a tapestry. They both managed to cram themselves inside around the same time that they heard the first bouts of laughter.

Sophia buried her face in his robes and started shaking, Sirius had to bite his lip from releasing his own guffaws at the thought of what the students on the other side of the tapestry were seeing.

The five Slytherins they'd been able to ambush were big brawny Quidditch players who had a tendency for being cruel and vicious off the pitch as much as they were on it. They'd definitely had this coming and by chasing them, a myriad of students and teachers were seeing them in all their hexed out glory, dressed as Cupids.

After all, what could be more in tune with the Valentine's atmosphere then five burly seventh-years dressed in bright pink short-shorts, knee-length red heart adorned white socks, fuzzy pink slippers, a bright red with white hearts tank top that was three sizes too small, and a full quiver of heart tipped arrows strapped across their chest while a bow was slung around one shoulder? Sirius was quite proud of the outfits they'd chosen for them.

And they glittered. Oh how they glittered. From their pink slippers to their currently pale pink hair. It had been Sophia's idea to make the glitter permanent until Wednesday, the day after Valentine's Day. So that even after they'd taken off their Cupid costumes they wouldn't be able to do the same with the shine of their skin, regardless of how hard they scrubbed or how long they washed.

Sirius grinned down at Sophia, who he could tell was now hiccupping from her silent laughter. She was absolutely devious. And he was unbelievably proud of her for being so.

They hid in the niche until the world beyond the tapestry silenced, indicating that the Slytherins had left and that the students had gone their individual ways as well.

Sophia gazed up at him with laughter-filled eyes and grinned. "Do you think they're gone?" she whispered.

Sirius poked his head out of their hiding spot but didn't notice anyone. Still, he motioned for Sophia to stay while he cautiously got out and looked around the corridor, making sure no Slytherins were lying in wait for them.

Sirius pulled the tapestry aside and Sophia climbed out.

"Let's go back to the common room," Sirius murmured, looking around carefully. He still expecting a Slytherin to pop up at any moment.

"Won't they be waiting there for us?" Sophia whispered back as they began heading towards Gryffindor Tower both of them on alert.

Sirius shrugged. "We can take them."

Sophia snorted. "I know very few defensive spells and even less offensive. So if they're there, you'll be getting no help from me."

Sirius stopped and stared at her in shock. "How is that even possible?"

Sophia shifted uneasily under his gaze and shrugged.

"What spells _do_ you know?" he asked suspiciously, positive she was underestimating her spellcasting.

Sophia muttered her answer.

He waited for her to continue.

She didn't.

Sirius shook his head in disbelief. He hadn't seen that one coming. She knew how to turn someone into a glittering heart encrusted horror but she only knew a few of the most basic protection spells. Probably only enough to pass her O.W.L.s.

He changed his course and headed towards the Quidditch Pitch, knowing that everyone else would be heading for the Great Hall for dinner at this hour. And if the Slytherins were waiting for them they wouldn't think to look this way. They weren't bright enough to think too far ahead.

Sirius slung his arm around Sophia's shoulders and drew her close to his side, loving it when she leaned against him trustingly, like she was now.

"You know, this means Lily can't yell at us for skipping class," Sophia grinned as Sirius led her towards the Hufflepuff stands.

Sirius laughed, "I doubt hiding will keep her from yelling at us, especially when she sees the Slytherins and figures out what we were doing instead."

"Maybe she'll forget before we see her again?" Sophia said hopefully.

Sirius just looked at her.

Sophia sighed, "I know."

When they finally reached the bleachers Sirius sat down with a sigh and pulled Sophia down onto his lap. Finally, a chance to rest. While they'd stopped for a while at the niche they hadn't really been able to relax, between holding in unbearable laughter and hoping the Slytherins didn't catch them.

But here, where the sky seemed closer to them then the ground and Sophia's soft body kept him warm, he felt himself finally begin to unwind.

He looked at Sophia who was looking up at the stars in thought.

"Fifi?" Sirius asked, brushing aside a curl from her cheek.

Sophia blinked away her thoughts and looked at him. She bit her lip nervously.

Sirius opened his mouth to ask what was wrong but was silenced by the feel of Sophia's lips against his.

Sirius let his eyes slide shut and tried to pull her closer to him. Sophia pushed his hands away and without breaking their kiss shifted so that she was straddling him.

He cupped her cheek as he kissed her harder. He loved her taste. Honestly, he could happily kiss her for hours. But he enjoyed kissing more than just her lips.

With that thought, Sirius loosened her tie and began to work on the top buttons of her white blouse. He began to trail kisses across her cheek and down her throat until he reached the spot where her neck connected to her shoulder. He nipped at her skin and was rewarded with a moan. Sirius sucked on that spot, knowing exactly what her reaction would be and enjoying every second of it.

Sophia moaned against him and, using her deft fingers, had him out of his robe and began lifting his sweater.

Sirius leaned back and grinned as he tossed off the sweater and she immediately began working on the buttons of his shirt. "In a hurry to get me naked, Fifi?"

She leaned in and kissed him again, making Sirius forget anything but her. "Definitely," she whispered against his lips.

Sirius blinked at her in confusion but, realizing what she was saying, grinned widely. Thinking fair was fair, he helped her out of her own robe and sweater.

Sophia laughed at his overenthusiastic actions but nonetheless helped him until only her bra remained. Sirius leaned forward to kiss her but was stopped in surprise when she reached behind her.

Sirius held his breath and leaned back to see her. His breath rushed out in a sigh as he admired her pale skin under her inky black curls. Before he could do more than look, she leaned forward and bit his nipple.

Sirius yelped in surprise. He heard Sophia laugh softly against his skin but soothed her bite with a slow lick that had Sirius groaning.

As she continued to lick and nibble on his chest, Sirius skimmed his hands up her sides, loving the feel of her soft skin underneath his hands.

Sophia giggled against him and wiggled on his lap. Sirius quirked an eyebrow in question.

He ran his hands down her sides again and when that earned him another giggle, he grinned.

Sophia looked up and when she saw the look in his eyes, hers widened. "Sirius, no…" she started but she ended with a shriek as Sirius began to tickle her sides.

"Sirius!" Sophia squealed in between laughter as she tried to grab a hold of his hands and move away from him. Sirius wasn't letting her go anytime time soon, so wrapping one arm around her waist so that she couldn't move away, he kissed her again.

Sophia relaxed against him almost instantly.

Sirius moved his hand from her navel upwards to cup her breast. They both groaned at the contact.

Sophia wrapped her arms around his neck as he continued to tease her breast while he used his other hand to keep her pressed against him.

Her hand drifted down his stomach and stroked him above his slacks.

Sirius pulled away from her in shock and stared at her.

Sophia gave him a wicked grin and asked, "Why are you stopping?"

Sirius couldn't think with her hand continuing to stroke him so he reached down and reluctantly pulled her hand away. If this meant what he thought it did, he needed to think. This was important. "Are," his voice came out much huskier than usual so he cleared his throat and tried again. "Are you sure?"

Sophia bit her lip and slid off his lap to stand in front of him.

Sirius nearly groaned as she moved off of him and couldn't help but curse himself for making her come to her senses.

Instead of redressing as he was certain she would, her hands slid to the top of her skirt. His gaze immediately locked on her hands and he held his breath as she began inching it downwards, taking her panties along with it. After the skirt dropped to her feet she kicked off her shoes and then leaned down to take off her stockings, giving him a mouth-watering view of her breasts.

When she was completely naked in front of him Sirius could do no more than absorb every bit of her with his eyes.

"You're drooling, Sirius," she murmured throatily.

He nodded, knowing it was most likely true and not giving a damn.

After all, how long had he waited for this? How many times had he dreamt of her? Too many to count. And he prayed to any and every god in existence that this wasn't just another dream. He _needed_ this to be reality.

Yet, he knew there was no way this was happening, reality or dream, unless she was unquestionably sure. Because if she had even a single doubt he'd back away. Even though he'd probably need a dip in the Black Lake to calm his raging teenage libido if she said no.

Sirius met her violet eyes and swallowed at the heat in her stare. Oh, she was sure alright. There was no mistaking that look in a woman's eye.

He grinned and stood up in front of her. He grabbed her hips and pulled her against him, kissing and stroking every inch of her skin within reach until she was moaning under his touch.

When her hands wandered underneath his pants he began moaning right alongside her.

Her legs started shaking underneath his fingers and she groaned his name.

Sirius stopped and sat her down long-ways on one of the benches. He stripped off his remaining clothes, doubtlessly setting a record for his speed, and kneeled on the bench in front of her.

He grabbed her by the neck and kissed her roughly. She tangled her hands in his hair and lay down, pulling his along with her so that he lay above her.

His body nestled perfectly between her legs and he groaned. He reluctantly pulled away from her lips and focused on her eyes.

"Are you positive?" Sirius asked again, his breathing heavy.

He didn't want to ask. Honestly, he didn't. Had never really bothered to ask twice with any other girl, figuring that a green light meant go and there was no need to triple check it. If after it was all said and done and they regretted it then oh well. They'd made their choice and he'd made sure to give them a hell of a ride for it.

But this was Fifi. _His _Fifi. There were going to be no regrets between them.

Sophia frowned up at him and tilted her head slightly, studying him. "Are you?"

"Completely," he answered her honestly.

Sophia looked at him incredulously, "Then why do you keep trying to kill the mood?"

"Because I wanted to make sure?" he asked her in confusion. Shouldn't all girls be happy that he was so focused on their feelings?

Sophia patted his cheek. "Sirius, sweetheart," she cooed, "if I didn't want this I would've kneed you between the legs long before now."

Sirius blinked.

Sophia leaned up and sucked his bottom lip into her mouth until his breathing was heavy once again. "Now," she grinned as she let go of his lip, "are you going to put that big boy inside of me or are we going to keep talking?"

Sirius laughed and seized her lips again before grasping her hips and slowly thrusting inside of her.

Sophia moaned and wrapped her legs around his waist, lifting her hips and helping him sink fully inside of her.

Sirius groaned as he let his hips begin to move against hers. The unbelievable feeling of having her clenched tightly around him was pure paradise.

He let his lips wander her skin while the sounds that she made provided a feast for his ears and her nails scored his back and hips.

When his tongue flicked across her nipple, she arched her back enticingly and he took the offered breast into his mouth.

"Harder," she breathed on a moan.

Sirius grazed her with his teeth while he let his hips give her exactly what she wanted.

Sophia's hips moved against his until she suddenly stilled beneath him and yelled out his name, gripping him so tightly that he couldn't help but follow her over the edge, muffling his own shout against her skin.

When they were finally able to catch their breaths, Sirius shifted them so that Sophia was lying on his chest.

Sophia snuggled into him and murmured sleepily, "Perfect."

As his eyes drifted close under the night sky with Sophia wrapped in his arms, he couldn't help but agree with her. This was perfect and he would do everything in his power to keep it from ending.


	17. Chapter 16: Snippets Of A Day

**Chapter Sixteen: February 1978: Snippets Of A Day**

Assi woke to the sound of a sudden _thump! _and the lose of her warm blanket.

She felt around for her blanket, knowing her internal clock was telling her that it was much to early to be awake. She frowned when she felt wood beneath her fingers. Had she fallen out of bed?

Assi rolled onto her back and reached up to pull down a blanket but couldn't feel anything. Huffing in an annoyed breath she cracked open an eye, and frowned in confusion.

Who painted clouds on her ceiling?

She looked to the side and sat straight up on the bleacher she was laying on. Assi looked down and gasped as she noticed she was naked. She shot to her feet and managed to stay on them for less than a second before the floor underneath her groaned, moved, and toppled her over.

Luckily she landed on something soft. And warm. And still groaning?

"Fifi, your knee is in a very bad place." her cushion whimpered.

Assi brushed aside the curls that had fallen in her face and came face-to-face with a grimacing Sirius.

Suddenly the night before came rushing back to her and she grinned at him. Their first time had been amazing.

"Fifi," Sirius groaned again.

Assi squeaked and quickly scrambled off of him. "I'm sorry!"

Sirius sat up gingerly but looked dazed as his gaze wandered her still unclothed body.

"Are you alright?" Assi asked as she kneeled in front of him.

Sirius nodded distractedly as he murmured, "I thought it was a dream."

Suddenly he grinned at her and pulled her in for a kiss. "Good morning, my beauty."

Assi rolled her eyes and stood up, "You're fine."

"Where are you going?" Sirius asked, reaching towards her, apparently ready to pull her back down with him.

Assi laughed and grabbed his arm, trying to pull him up. "Breakfast."

His stomach growled at the mention of food and he must've realized he hadn't eaten in _hours _because he was instantly on his feet, searching for his own clothes.

Assi might have been offended that food had become his priority if it weren't for the hungry looks he kept sending her way as she dressed. Looks that had nothing to do with food.

She caught his eye and asked innocently. "Breakfast in bed?"

Sirius grinned and nodded enthusiastically.

* * *

><p>"Padfoot!"<p>

Sirius groaned and pulled Sophia closer to him, definitely not wanting to get up yet.

"Dammit Padfoot! Get out of bed already!" He heard James shout in annoyance.

"He probably can't hear you through his curtains." Remus murmured sleepily. "You know how he likes to spell them to shut out the world."

"I can spell them open," Peter offered eagerly, "He taught me the spell to do so."

Sophia shifted in her sleep and Sirius sighed, sliding out of his bed carefully in order to not wake her up or open the curtains far enough for his friends to see her sleeping in his bed.

"What's with the yelling, Prongs?" Sirius asked James rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Lily's worried the Slytherins may have gotten to Sophia for the prank you two pulled." James explained as he began pulling on his arm to bring him downstairs.

"At least let him put on some pants, Prongs," Remus laughed as he also slid out of bed and began to dress.

"Fifi's fine." Sirius murmured as he headed back to his bed with a yawn. "She probably just snuck into the kitchens since we snuck out without dinner last night." He normally didn't like to lie to his friends but he wasn't about to tell them where she really was. What they'd done was private and he wasn't sure how she would react if he told his friends without asking her.

"Where did you go last night?" James asked him suspiciously.

"We hid out at the Quidditch Pitch since we knew the Slytherins would be on our tail." Sirius told them honestly.

"Brilliant prank by the way," Remus told him as he put on his shoes. "Heard the Slytherins were leaving a trail of glitter wherever they went."

"It really was a good prank," Peter added.

Sirius grinned proudly. "It was pretty good wasn't it?"

James laughed, "It was, but you're going to have to watch it around the Slytherins from now on. And Sophia probably shouldn't be wandering around by herself."

Sirius nodded in agreement. "She won't."

"She is," Remus pointed out.

"I'm not," Sophia said, poking her head out of the curtains. "Now, hush and let me go back to sleep." she told them hiding once again behind them.

Remus, Peter, and James all looked at Sirius with eyebrows raised in question.

"The kitchens, Padfoot?" James asked with a smirk.

"I'm hiding from Lily," Sophia explained, poking her head out again, "And if any of you tell her I'm here, I won't hesitate to make _you _glitter."

Then she once again disappeared.

Sirius grinned. "You heard her." He slipped back into bed with her and wrapped his arms around her once again.

They heard some muffled laughter and then three sets of steps walk out of the dormitory amid whispers.

"How much do you want me to tell them?" Sirius asked her, nuzzling her neck.

"As much as you'd like." Sophia murmured, stroking her hands down his back.

He leaned back to look at her in surprise, "Really?"

Sophia nodded. "Really."

She stretched against him and slipped out of bed. "Alright, time to face The Wrath of Lily."

Sirius chuckled and drew her against down again. "We're suppose to be in hiding, remember?"

Sophia sighed and stroked his chest. "We are, aren't we?"

He wiggled his eyes suggestively, "Definitely."

* * *

><p>Assi laughed as Sirius recounted the motorcycle chase he and James had gone through during the summer.<p>

"Then out of nowhere, three wizards start chasing us on brooms," Sirius told her as they climbed the tall tree Sirius had insisted on.

"Did the policemen that were chasing you see them too?" Assi asked with a grin.

Sirius shrugged. "I don't know, but I doubt they did. Besides Muggles explain everything away."

"What did you and James do to get rid of them then?" Assi asked, jumping up to reach the branch a few inches above her. She grabbed a hold of it and pulled herself up. Sirius, being taller than her had little trouble with it and easily climbed with her.

"We pulled out our wands, levitated the police car following us and the wizards flew straight into it," Sirius told her with a proud grin. "It was one of the best things I've ever seen."

Assi burst out laughing again. She couldn't believe they'd actually done that. It was simply too ridiculous. "Why are we climbing the tree again?" Assi asked Sirius as he helped her up yet another branch.

Sirius shrugged. "Because I always wanted to."

Assi huffed and continued her way up.

"Your turn, Fifi," Sirius announced after a few more branches. "Tell me a story."

Assi thought for a moment, before choosing a memory, "When my sister and I were little, Dad decided he wanted to take us trick-or-treating in Muggle America."

"Why America?" Sirius asked her curiously.

"Because Dad wanted to try their candy." Assi explained easily. "Anyway, before Halloween Dad realized that while he could dress in his most traditional and exaggerated wizard's wear, my sister and I didn't really have any costumes so he decided to take us to a Muggle costume shop. It was the most horrifyingly shopping trip in history. There were crazed Muggles everywhere, pushing and shoving against one another while they fought for costumes since Halloween was the next day.

"Dad was afraid we would get stomped on so he decided to put us up on the top shelf of a random aisle. Then he began to work his way through the throngs of people to where the costumes were. He was gone for what seemed like forever as people kept shoving and pushing, rocking the shelf we were on. Leli and I had to hold on tight since we were both afraid we were going to fall and some old lady kept pulling on our legs insisting we were such pretty little dolls.

"When Dad finally returned and shooed the old lady away, who hit on him before she left, he was pale faced and in obvious shock. I'm not quite sure what happened because Dad refused to say, but he kept muttering, 'Muggles are insane.' After the lady was gone and he'd gotten us down he herded us out as quickly as possible vowing he would never again go costume shopping. It was outstanding seeing such a powerful wizard traumatized by a shop full of Muggles."

Sirius laughed as he sat down on a branch to rest, "Did you ever get costumes?"

Assi nodded as she sat down beside him, "I begged my Godmother to help and with a few spells, she dressed my sister as a Harpy and me as an orangutan."

Sirius gave her a bewildered expression, "Why an orangutan?"

Assi blinked at him, "Because they're awesome."

Sirius just looked at her in disbelief.

She ignored it and looked out at the stunning view before them. They were surrounded by pure green with traces of the gray sky shining through the leaves.

"Wow," Assi breathed out.

Sirius sighed with delight. "That was completely worth the climb."

Assi nodded. Unable to do much more as she absorbed the gorgeous view.

"My family lives in town as do the Potters. But Hogwarts is surrounded by nature. And _this_ is my true home." Sirius looked over at her and smiled sheepishly, seeming embarrassed for what he'd said.

Assi smiled at him and leaned against his side, wrapping her arms around his arm. "Are you planning on working here after you graduate?"

Sirius snorted. "Me? A teacher? No way. I'm going to get my own place, somewhere where there's lots of trees and no buildings and work as an Auror part-time. My uncle left me enough money that I don't need to work full-time."

Assi bit her lip at that. At how much he loved the outdoors and how much he was looking forward to living in his own forest. That wasn't in his future, however.

Not unless he choose to come with her.

Assi tightened her hold on him, praying he'd go and knowing she definitely needed to tell him soon.


	18. Chapter 17: Revelations

**Chapter Seventeen: February 1978: Revelations**

"Do you even realize what you're asking me?" Sirius asked, voice raising in frustration.

He'd just spent the couple hours or so listening to Sophia (no, _Assiel_) as she told him of the horrible future that awaited him and his friends. A future where Peter betrayed them all to be Voldemort's pet. A future where James and Lily were killed and he was blamed for their deaths and sent to Azkaban. And when he finally escaped, it was only to be killed while Peter remained among the living.

He hadn't been able to speak during the entire thing, his horror and fear having muted him. And then she'd told him she'd come from the future to give him a second chance. But for him to be given this chance he had to give up the life he now had and go with her to the future.

Sirius was given the choice of having his world crumble around him or leave _his_ world for _hers_.

"I do," Assi replied, tears in her eyes and regret in her voice.

Sirius scowled. "How can you? This isn't _your _life. This isn't _your_ world! _Your_ family! How can you have _any_ idea?"

"You'd be surprised," Assi whispered, eyes downcast.

Sirius looked at her. She had NO idea what she was asking.

"Get out." he growled.

Assi looked up at him in surprise.

"I can't-" Sirius shook his head. "I won't deal with you right now. I need time to think. Away from you. I need to figure out if I even actually believe you."

Assi nodded, her violet eyes shuttered, her expression unreadable. She walked out of Sirius's dormitory without a backwards glance.

Did

he believe her? She knew he was an Animagus and that Remus was a werewolf. That was something very few Slytherins knew. Although Lily had figured it out so it wasn't impossible for her to have as well. But what about what she'd told him would happen between him and his three best friends? There was no way Peter would betray them. He was… Peter was simply too… loyal wasn't the word he was looking for. He was… devoted. That was it. Peter Pettigrew was devoted to James and Sirius. And he would never do anything to hurt either. He wouldn't.

Sirius rubbed his temples in frustration.

Yes, Peter was devoted to them but that was only because at his core he was a coward.

Sirius knew that. It was why Peter worshipped James and him, because they protected him. But what would Peter do if he was faced with someone that they couldn't protect him from?

Sirius wanted to believe he'd grow a set and remain loyal to them, but he wasn't sure he could believe that.

Sirius snarled at the doorway she had disappeared through.

She was making Sirius question the motives of his best friends and he hated her for it.

He shook his head and decided to go downstairs, hoping she wouldn't be there. He was going to go mad if he stayed alone with his thoughts for much longer.

Sirius sighed in silent relief when he saw only Remus, James, and Lily were there. Everyone else was probably still in class and he didn't even want to know where _she_ was.

Sirius dropped himself onto the couch in front of the fireplace, next to Remus who was studying an open book.

Lily was curled up on James's lap both of them sitting in the armchair, studying off of a book Lily held.

Sirius thought about what Sophia (no, _Assi_) had said. Harry Potter.

"If you two had a kid what would you name him?" Sirius asked Lily and James, testing Assi's "facts".

"Huh?" James asked, looking up at Sirius in surprise and confusion. Lily and Remus mimicking his expression.

Sirius shrugged. "It's just a simple question. What would you name your kid?"

Lily gasped. Then looked around and leaned towards Sirius, whispering. "Is Sophia pregnant?"

Sirius sputtered. "No!" he protested loudly. "We know how to use contraceptive charms!"

Remus elbowed him to shush him when some of the nearby students looked at them in curiosity.

Lily rolled her eyes, "Well considering the fact that the two of you have been sleeping together for who knows how long, it seemed likely."

Sirius frowned. "What are you talking about? Our first night together was Friday."

Lily looked at him in confusion, "But… Sophia never sleeps in her bed at night. Not for months. She always wakes up after she thinks everyone is asleep and sneaks off and doesn't come back until morning, taking a shower before the other girls even wake up."

Sirius gritted his teeth. "Well she sure as hell hasn't been with me."

Remus fidgeted beside him. "I'm sure it's not what your thinking, Padfoot."

Sirius scowled.

Of course he knew what Sirius was thinking. After all, what else could it be? She was playing him for a dolt. Probably decided to see how far she could take it with her cockamamie story. And what would happen if he'd choose her? Would she-

"Harry." James said.

Sirius froze and swallowed the lump in his throat, turning towards James.

"What's hairy?" Remus asked, confused.

James shook his head. "That's what I would name my son."

"Harry James Potter." Lily mused before grinning. "I like it."

"Harry_ James_ Potter?" James asked with a smirk.

Lily shrugged with a blush. "I assumed you'd want your son to have your name too."

James grinned. "So what would you name our daughter?"

"_Our _daughter?" Lily asked him with a sideways look.

James shrugged, his grin still playing at the corner of his lips. "Hypothetically speaking."

Lily thought for a moment. "I like Daisy."

"Daisy Lily Potter?" James asked.

Lily laughed and shook her head, "Daisy Marie."

James nodded, approving of the name. Sirius zoned them out as they began to come up with other names for their "hypothetical" future children. Apparently they both wanted a big family.

And didn't that just turn Sirius's blood cold?

Their first son would be named Harry James Potter.

A name James had chosen. Assi couldn't have known. Unless…

Was she really telling him the truth?

* * *

><p>Sirius sat in the armchair, James's invisibility cloak hiding his presence as he watched the girl's staircase for Assi.<p>

The entire time he grinded his jaw, waiting to see who Assi's little lover boy was and to see if they were having fun behind Sirius's back. He'd decided that he wouldn't even consider her words until he saw what she did each night. He wondered again if it was The Storyteller she was with. It'd make sense if it was. Who better to come up with an unbelievable story then the very person he'd coined The Storyteller?

He stilled as he heard footsteps coming from the stairs. Well, it seemed he was finally going to find out how far her lies went.

A moment later Assi slipped downstairs wearing her pajamas.

Sirius quietly got up, ready to follow her out of the common room but stopped when he noticed she was walking towards him.

Had she heard him? Or maybe seen him, somehow?

No, she hadn't looked up from the floor as she walked towards him.

Sirius moved out of the way before Assi could run into him.

He watched in confusion as she grabbed the throw on the chair he'd been sitting at, a pillow from another armchair and made her way to the couch where she curled up and looked into the fire.

After a short time, he saw her eyes drifted shut and her breathing slowed. She'd fallen asleep.

Sirius simply stared at her.

This is where she snuck off to?

To sleep on the common room couch? Why?

Sirius settled himself back into the armchair, where he could watch Assi sleep.

How many other secrets did she still keep from him?


	19. Chapter 18: Melisande's Musings

**Chapter Eighteen: February 1998: Melisande's Musings**

"The current Pixie arrivals have come to believe that they should be in charge of Dragon Peak and swear to create chaos until their demands are met," Melisande informed Leli as she perched on her stool in the main meeting room of Dragon Peak.

The young witch raised an eyebrow in question from the seat beside Melisande. "And what exactly are their demands?"

"They refuse to tell me. They say they shall only answer to one of the Sanctuary's Keepers and not some 'feathered headed wannabe in need of a nail filer.'" Melisande replied with a scowl, feeling her wings flutter behind her in anger. She absolutely abhorred those little miscreants and would have happily sliced all their wings with her claws if they hadn't been under Sanctuary's protection.

Melisande heard Leli sigh heavily and begin to rub her temples. "Alright. I'll have Dee send an elf over to arrange a meeting for later on this week. I'd like you to attend, if you're willing?"

Melisande nodded reluctantly. She wasn't looking forward to dealing with those insufferable creatures once more. Honestly, they were an exterminators dream. Annoying, meddlesome beasts who were useless in the grand scheme of things.

"What news is there from the Gargoyles?" Leli asked, drawing Melisande back to the reason she was here and away from her delightful thoughts. She was giving her biweekly update on the happenings of Dragon Peak and there was little time to daydream. Too much had gone on in the last two weeks since she'd last seen Leli.

"The Gargoyles are keeping to themselves as usual. The new arrivals are making them a twitchy and a bit too quick to brandish their claws. They need to be talked to before they expose a claw to the wrong person and they're having a hard time listening to anyone who crosses their borders. You know how territorial they can be." And with all the new beasts arriving in hordes, they were being extra defensive.

Gargoyles along with many other races in Sanctuary, like the Harpies, were thought to be extinct or myths. Now that some of the younger creatures were realizing that there was at least one place where the beings of old existed, they were becoming too curious for their own good.

Melisande knew how the Gargoyles felt since her own clan had been overwhelmed by visitors recently who didn't understand the importance of boundaries. Yet unlike the Harpies, who were as quick to adapt as they were in flight, the Gargoyles loathed change.

The Gargoyles were the size of an average human, reptilian in appearance with long horns that curved from the crown on their heads to the small of their backs, large onyx wings, and opaque glass eyes. If that weren't startling enough, the fact that their entire body, from claw to horn to wing, was pure gray stone. Still, they were able to move with a liquid grace that put every Harpy to shame.

Melisande sighed to herself, if only those hardheaded creatures could go through life with the same grace. Instead they were like the stone of their skin; stubborn, resistant to change, and usually quite insipid.

Melisande shook her head, getting back to the bedlam that now engulfed Sanctuary.. "The real problem, though, seems to be the newly arrived Banshees who insist that they would rather have their territory near the Hags than remain near the Augurey, who don't seem to want to quiet down these days. The changes aren't sitting too well with those damned birds."

Leli quirked her lips at the news and wrote something on the parchment in front of her. "I'll speak with the Gargoyles and search through the spell books for a suitable silencing charm that won't interfere with the one that's already around their territory. Ironic that the Banshees are upset with the Augurey because of their noise."

Melisande smirked in agreement.

Dee, the little elf that seemed to personify sunshine suddenly appeared. "I'm sorry to disturb you, my lady, but you wanted me to inform you of any changes with the elves?"

Leli nodded for Dee to continue.

"Dollop has taken over command of Shadow Tree for the remainder of the day while Mica rests and Chessel has returned from her errand and is resting here until you have another assignment for her." Dee replied, looking a little less sunny than usual, Melisande noted with a jolt. Then again, now that she thought about it, she really shouldn't be surprised since the little elf had nearly as much if not more responsibility on her small shoulders than Melisande did.

Leli studied the little elf and Melisande had the feeling she was noting the same thing she just had.

"Thank you, Dee, but you can inform Chessel that she can take the rest of the day to relax. Then I'd like you to do the same," Leli announced.

Dee gave Leli a rueful smile that indicated that this wasn't the first time she had been ordered to rest. "Yes, Mistress, I'll have Pestle take over my duties for the day."

Leli smiled at Dee and nodded.

Melisande turned her attention back to Leli when Dee disappeared, noting that this was the first smile she'd seen on her for quite some time. And now that she had a chance to study her, she noted something else as well. The eldest Keeper looked exhausted. She had dark bruises underneath her eyes, her skin looked too pale to be healthy, and it was obvious she had lost a considerable amount of weight.

Yet until this moment Melisande, one of the beings with the sharpest of eyes, hadn't noticed how tired her Lady looked. She could blame it on her distraction with the Cornish Pixies but that wouldn't have been true. She hadn't noticed because, as tired as she _looked_, Leli's ocean eyes were as clear as a cloudless sky and as sharp as a Harpy's nail. And through the eyes, a being could be defined.

Yet, if the witch continued to neglect her health it wouldn't matter how strong her mind was, she would still inevitably collapse.

"Maybe you should take your own advice." Melisande told Leli thoughtfully.

Leli gave a sardonic twist to her lips. "And who do _I _delegate to?"

Melisande paused with a frown.

Therein lay the root of the problem, didn't it? Leli's sister and the second Keeper of Sanctuary was nowhere to be seen. Or even felt.

Assi personified energy and mischief while Leli was calm and order. Yet the way they affected Sanctuary was the reverse, something no one had expected. It wasn't until Assi's aura in Sanctuary had suddenly disappeared that it was made evident how much both sisters were needed to keep balance.

Leli's essence invoked vitality while Assi's provided a soothing balm. But, since Assi's essence was missing, all of Sanctuary felt unstable. Add to that the war that plagued the world around them and was there any wonder why Leli and her elves looked drained? Or why all the creatures of Sanctuary felt so on edge?

"Is there no way to bring Lady Assiel home sooner?" Melisande asked Leli. She had little doubt that if the youngest witch were here, neither Leli nor Sanctuary would be in such a frail state.

Leli's eyes flashed bright with hope before the light dimmed and she shook her head, "No. I don't believe there is."

Melisande pursed her lips, wondering where exactly the little Keeper was that would make her essence fade. _Was_ she even alive? Melisande didn't think Leli would lie to her about something so important but what if she didn't know? Could someone be tricking the bright witch? Using her weakness for her sister against her perhaps?

"I would be willing to bring her home," She offered. It really was in everyone's best interests that the little Keeper return.

Leli gave her a brief smile, one of the first she'd seen in a long while, but still shook her head. "Thank you, Melisande, but no."

"Why not?" Melisande scowled, her claws sharpening and her wings twitching. Was she questioning her abilities? She should know that the Harpies were fierce warriors and there were few who could go against them and live. If there was anyone who could bring Assi home it was Melisande. And Assi _needed_ to come home already.

"Assiel is safe and working towards an important goal," Leli answered simply.

Melisande frowned. "Is her goal more important than Sanctuary?"

Leli narrowed her eyes at Melisande. "A soul hangs in the balance. If she succeeds he lives. Yet even then, Assi was reluctant to go. Only after I assured her I would be alright and take care of Sanctuary until she returned, did she agree. So as I said before, Melisande, thank you for offering to retrieve my sister but _no_."

Melisande nodded stiffly. While to her a life meant nothing compared to the whole of Sanctuary, the sisters were different. To them _every_ life mattered. To them life was like the sun to a Harpy. Something to be revered, protected, and enjoyed.

And she'd just undervalued it.

Still, Melisande didn't see how the Keepers could risk Sanctuary for a mere _mortal_ male. If their positions were reversed would she give up her sun for the greater good?

May Jord save her but she would never understand these witches and trying to always made a headache throb behind her eyes.

"I apologize, Keeper," Melisande ground out. Pride was another thing that the Harpies suffered an excess of and apologizing never came easy. Especially when they thought they were in the right.

Leli dipped her chin in acknowledgement.

"But if Lady Assiel does not return by April's birth, my fellow Harpies and I _will_ go out and search for her." Melisande warned.

"She'll be back by then though," Leli replied her voice certain.

Melisande narrowed her eyes at the glint of doubt she could see within Leli's. "All the same."

Leli could do no more than nod.


	20. Chapter 19: Q&A With Fate

**Chapter Nineteen: February 1978: Q&A With Fate**

When he heard his friends' even breathing, Sirius creeped out of their dormitory and transfigured into the black dog that was his Animagus form and crept down the staircase.

Just like he did every night, Sirius hid in the shadowed corner of the common room and waited.

A few moments later, just like every other night, Assi glided down the girls' staircase stealthily, grabbed her pillow and blanket, and curled up on the couch.

Sirius rested his head on his paws and watched as her breathing slowed and she fell asleep.

He was surprised that tonight she had actually fallen asleep. Most nights she would just lie awake all night, simply staring at the fire while she played with the silver ring that never left her finger. As for the few times she actually slept, she would usually toss and turn fitfully in her sleep, mumbling words too low for him to understand but that were always laced with pain.

During those nights, Sirius usually ended up laying at her feet in his dog form soothing her into a restful sleep.

He refused to wonder why his presence calmed her, just like he refused to speculate why he couldn't help but try to ease her when she was agitated.

Until he'd told her to leave, Sirius hadn't realized how big a part of his life had come to involve her. She had been in all his classes, had practiced and played Quidditch with him, had become his pranking buddy and therefore one of his best friends, and they'd even begun to date.

These days, however, he rarely saw her, didn't speak to her, and few even mentioned her name. Or fake name as it was.

It was as if she'd just disappeared into thin air.

None of the Professors or students noted her absence during class. James insisted that the third Chaser position had always belonged to Baby Fitzpatrick. And whenever he recalled a prank the two had done together, everyone always corrected him and said that someone else had been his accomplice or that the prank had never occurred. To everyone else, Frosty, and their cochcycle had never happened.

As for them dating? The pups were all over him again while his own friends raised an eyebrow in question whenever he turned down a pretty girl's offer.

At least they did until he reminded them that he was still with Assi, then they'd suddenly seem to remember her and act embarrassed they'd forgotten. They all seemed to forget about her a minute afterwards though, and the entire thing would inevitably repeat itself.

He alone never forgot. He hadn't forgotten a single moment they'd spent together. Which meant that if it weren't for the nights he spent watching her, he would've begun to believe he was insane.

Regardless of seeing her each night, he was beginning to wonder if he'd already gone mad. If perhaps she was just an apparition he'd made up?

That was one of his reoccurring thoughts.

The other was, "What if she's real?" If she were real then so was the possibility that she was telling the truth about the future.

Sirius wasn't sure madness wasn't the better option of the two.

Because, if he were honest with himself, Sirius believed her. He'd had lots of time to ponder her words and they made a horrifying sense he couldn't deny.

Which left him between choosing a lonely future or a doomed past. (And the hopeful thought he may be insane, of course.)

Sirius felt his ears twitch at the sound of the portrait opening.

He rose his head to see who was sneaking into Gryffindor so late. He tilted his head in confusion when he saw Trivianna.

The Ravenclaw shouldn't be here. How is it she even knew the password?

Trivianna stopped behind the couch and curled her finger towards Sirius, signaling that he should follow her. Then she simply walked back out of the common room, leaving Sirius confused. He knew she couldn't see him hidden in the shadows, yet she had stared directly at him. Somehow she'd known he was there.

He looked back at Assi to find that she had yet to stir, for once sleeping serenely.

Sirius transfigured back into a human, deciding to follow Trivianna.

After all, what did he have to lose?

Trivianna was waiting for him right beside the portrait hole and, without a word, led him outside.

"You have questions." she spoke suddenly.

Sirius, who was now walking beside her turned towards her in confusion. Yes, he did have questions, but how would _she_ know? Unless… Had Assi told her?

"I am the Weaver of Dawning Fate. My sisters sent me to insure that Assiel complied with our rules and did not try to alter the future. She did not have to tell me anything since _we_ were the ones that chose your soul." Trivianna told him, her chin raised in superiority.

Sirius frowned at her. Weaver of Dawning Fate? He'd always known her, there was no-

Trivianna laughed and turned her boundless eyes on Sirius, "Tell me, Black, can you recall when we met? Can you recall a single specific memory of me before you met Assiel?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. Of course he remembered when they'd met. It had been- Wait. He'd met her first year. Or had he? And now that she asked, he couldn't think of a clear memory of her. But… he _knew_ her. He _knew _he did.

"As I told Assiel, mortal minds are quite easy to manipulate." Trivianna (_or did he call her Weaver now? Or maybe Dawning Fate?_) sighed. She stopped walking and turned towards Sirius expectantly. "Now ask your questions."

"Uh…" Sirius still wasn't even sure if he believed Assi's "future" and now Trivianna was telling him she was a Weaver of Fate?

Where was madness when you prayed for it? Or was his old schoolmate saying she was Fate proof that he was already far gone?

"Oh _please,_ if you hadn't already decided Assiel spoke true, I wouldn't have bothered to approach you. Now, _ask_ already. My time is needed elsewhere and you are taking far too long." Trivianna snapped impatiently.

"Why me?" Sirius blurted out. If she were telling the truth then he didn't want to lose this opportunity. If she were lying… well… oh well.

"Because it was your soul that was bargained for." Trivianna told him, looking at him as if he should already know that.

Sirius supposed he did since that was what Assi had said but she hadn't told him why _him._ What made _him_ so important that her mother had agreed to pay her life for his.

"And who would you believe is worthy of such a sacrifice? If we were willing to make a deal with you, for who's life would you trade yours?" Trivianna asked curiously.

"Prongs." Sirius told her instantly, no hesitation in his words, a glimmer of hope appearing. Would they be willing to trade?

Trivianna _tisk_ed in disapproval. "So you would send James Potter to a time where Lily Evans no longer existed?"

Sirius was about to answer in the affirmative but had to bite his lip.

Sure, James loved Lily but if given the choice, James would choose life before her… Wouldn't he? Sirius felt his hope dim.

"Don't fret," Trivianna interrupted his thoughts, "That option is not open to you so your choice is inconsequential. Ask another question."

Sirius wanted so desperately to bare his teeth at her and growl in annoyance but he restrained himself. His hope extinguished as h resigned himself to search for another question. "Why is everyone forgetting Fi-Assi?"

"This isn't her time and there are some in this time who will meet her in their future. Letting everyone keep their memories of her will cause too much confusion." Trivianna explained.

Oh. He hadn't thought of that. Yet she'd said she'd met him briefly years from now. Did that mean he'd forget too?

"If you choose to remain in this time, than yes, all your memories of her shall be erased." Trivianna answered him even though Sirius hadn't spoken aloud.

Sirius frowned. Or had he? He must have.

He shook his head and returned to contemplate Trivianna's answer. He'd forget all about Assi. To him, it'd be like it'd never happened. He'd probably see things the same way his friends did now.

Sirius rubbed his chest. Would she remember him?

"Yes."

Sirius started at the answer. She'd remember everything while he would forget? As unfair as that seemed, Sirius wasn't completely displeased with the thought. He didn't want her to forget him. Yet… he didn't want to forget her.

"Where is she during the day?" Sirius asked Trivianna.

Trivianna waved her hand in a vague gesture. "She likes to explore the castle and it's grounds. Usually spending the majority of her time in the library or experimenting in the Room of Requirement. Until your decision is made she has no choice but to linger. And as I told her, it's best if she remains unseen."

"Room of Requirement?" Sirius asked in confusion. He'd heard the stories of such a room existing but he hadn't known anyone had found it.

"In Assiel's time, the location of said room is common knowledge." Trivianna told him, then she made another hand gesture, "Next question."

"What experiments does she do?" Sirius couldn't help but ask.

"She's a natural healer. Therefore, the majority of her experiments consist of creating concoctions that cater to her craft."

_A natural healer. _That actually explained a lot about Assi. "Was the chocolate laced with a potion?" Sirius asked as it suddenly made sense why only the chocolate she gave him seemed to help.

Trivianna simply nodded.

"And the mixed drink she gives Moony after every full moon?"

"Of course. Although that particular brew is minor. That witch insists on arguing with me every full moon, hoping to give a stronger remedy." Trivianna replied, mumbling the last bit to herself in affectionate exasperation.

"Why haven't you let her?" Sirius growled angrily. This meant that Assi had the skills to keep his friend from suffering, yet she hadn't been able to do anything because of _her_. Sirius glared at Trivianna.

Trivianna narrowed her eyes in return. "Don't question me, mortal," she warned, her low voice managing to echo disconcertingly within his skull.

Sirius swallowed.

Whoa. Maybe it was best he didn't anger the all-powerful being in front of him.

She smirked. "Good boy."

"And the reason I didn't allow her to give such potions was because it would make you question how she came to get it and how she would know who to use it on. But, since you already know, I will allow Assiel to create something more powerful for your friend the next full moon." Tri- The Weaver told him, her tone making it obvious that the only reason she was explaining herself was because she was feeling magnanimous.

"Thank you," Sirius told her as he bowed his head respectfully, knowing it was probably best if he show The Weaver some humility.

"What other questions do you have?" The Weaver asked dismissingly.

Sirius thought for a minute, "How much of what Assi said was the truth?"

The Weaver sighed and looked up at the cloudy night sky in vexation. "He has a Weaver of Fate willing to answer any of his questions and all he asks about is a mortal female. All souls be saved, mortal men really are one-tracked in mind."

Sirius rubbed his jaw self-consciously. It wasn't as if he could help it. She was just the one on his mind.

"Assiel told you more truths than falsehoods. Any lies or half-truths were necessary. Now, if you wish to know more, I suggest you ask _her_." The Weaver told him, obviously annoyed. "And since your mind seems to be preoccupied with only thoughts of Assiel, I'll answer a few question you will have that _do not_ involve her.

"If you choose to go with her, you will be known as the half-blood son Sirius Black conceived before his imprisonment and who he knew nothing about. As with all dealing with Fate and Death, it's best if you only tell a very limited few your true identity. It will make life for all easier. Your fabricated life would be devised by Assiel, her sister, and you."

"If you choose to stay, as I've said before, your memories will be altered, forgetting Assiel and everything she has said of the future. Events shall unfold as they are woven." The Weaver paused before shrugging. "I believe that's it. The rest Assiel should be able to answer. If you decide to ask her, of course."

She gave Sirius one last nod before a silver mist rose from around them and swallowed her.

A cool wind followed, blowing away the mist and with it, any sign that the Weaver had ever been there.

Sirius ran his hand through his hair with a sigh.

He looked up at dark sky, staring at the clouds as they moved with the wind, obscuring the stars and blanketing the sky in an endless gray sea.

Sirius moved his eyes back towards Hogwarts.

"A lonely future or a doomed past," Sirius murmured to himself as he started towards the castle.

Merlin, he really hoped he gone mad.


	21. Chapter 20: The Full Moon

**_Since I've been inconsistent with my updating the last few weeks, I've posted two more chapters for your reading pleasure :D I'm going to write the next chapter tonight to make sure that its ready for next week. As always, read, review, and enjoy! :)_**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twenty: February 1978: The Full Moon<strong>

"Are you ready?" Sirius asked his werewolf friend gravely.

Remus grimaced, already looking pale. "Am I ever?"

James patted him on the back. "Don't worry, Moony. One day a genius will invent something that'll help you handle your furry little problem."

Remus sighed and rubbed his temples wearily. "You know, because you keep calling it my 'furry little problem' people are starting to think that I keep a crazy cat hidden in a shoebox under my bed."

James frowned. "That's pretty specific for an assumption, isn't it?"

Sirius coughed in an attempt to hide his startled chuckle.

James and Remus turned to look at him, both wearing identical expressions of confusion.

"What?" Sirius asked, trying and failing, to smother his grin.

James burst out laughing while Remus looked distressed.

"Why would you tell people that?" Remus asked, his voice almost qualifying as a shriek.

"I didn't say anything!" Sirius defended himself. "I _may _have mentioned something about hearing meows in the middle of the night coming from your side of the room. And I _might _have commented on seeing a shoebox move under your bed. But I honestly have no idea where anyone got the idea that the cat was crazy."

Remus simply looked at Sirius in horror. "Why?" he asked in complete mortification and embarrassment.

James had stopped laughing and was looking at Sirius in disapproval, waiting for his answer. It was one thing to play pranks and spread false rumors when it came to others but to do it to their own friend? That was definitely crossing the line.

Sirius rolled his eyes at them. They were looking at him as if he'd purposefully set out to make Remus a laughing stock. Did they really think he'd do something callous?

Well… ever since he'd played that prank on Snape years before his friends had apparently decided that when it came to him, there was no such thing as "too far."

But they should know that playing a joke on his fellow Marauders _was_ too far.

"It wasn't to make fun of you," he explained in exasperation, "I figured if I told some way-out-there-lie people would stop trying to figure out what your 'furry little problem' was. They'd just say it was a Marauder joke and leave it at that. Now that the story about the crazy cat is out, people will only laugh at it thinking they're in on the joke without trying to find out by snooping around."

Remus blinked at Sirius in surprise. "Thanks, Padfoot."

_He didn't have to look so shocked,_ Sirius thought to himself glumly.

He grinned and winked at Remus, "No problem, Crazy Cat Guy."

James laughed again and this time Sirius was relieved that Remus did too.

He loved his friends. He did. No matter what happened in life, he always would. They were the only one's he really trusted and he'd do whatever he could to protect them.

Sirius sobered as Assi's words once again echoed in his mind.

He swallowed the lump in his throat and locked away his thoughts of her.

Tonight, his friends needed him.

Tonight, the present was more important than any possible future.

* * *

><p>"Red clover, feverfew… where's that damn sweet violet?" Assi murmured to herself as she looked through the jar encased herbs lining one of the walls. She needed that bothersome little flower for a pain reliever she was brewing and she couldn't seem to find it anywhere. Honestly, hadn't it been there two days ago when she'd been looking for another elusive herb?<p>

Assi stood up straight and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She glared at the shelf.

"Does glaring at the innocent plants ever encourage them to step forward?" Fate asked, laughter in her voice.

Assi turned around in surprise, not having heard the door open. She huffed out an annoyed breath in reply to Fate's question, "Not yet. But I'm optimistic."

Fate laughed before motioning back to the shelf. "Bottom left."

Assi quickly turned around and found the little flower right where Fate said it would be. "Yes!" she yelled happily.

She smiled gratefully at Fate before turning her attention back to her potion in progress.

"Tonight is the full moon," Fate announced suddenly.

Assi's hands stilled. She looked up at Fate in question.

Fate waved her calms away and glided across the room to take her usual seat in front of her.

"Tomorrow, you can give Lupin and his friends a drought and tell them what it is."

Assi perked up. "Really? Can I give them anything?"

Fate shrugged. "Within reason. Something simple but effective. Something made by your family would be best since time would not be an issue. Also, whatever you do give them should remain primarily between you and the Marauders."

Assi nodded. Already thinking up dozens of possible elixirs. She paused and looked at Fate as something occurred to her.

"I'll leave it up to you to decide on what to tell them." Fate told her. "You can even tell Black the truth or keep it to yourself."

Assi rolled her eyes. "You know, for being Fate, you leave a lot up to me."

Fate laughed. "Haven't you ever heard the phrase 'One makes their own Fate?'"

Assi frowned. "But your Fate embodied."

She rose her eyebrows. "That does not mean _I _dictate your life."

"But as Fate aren't you all-knowing?" Assi asked, putting aside her finished potion before walking towards the liquids on the opposite wall.

Fate snorted. "Being all-knowing just means I know your possible futures, not which is the exact one you shall choose. That is up to you and your fellow mortals."

"But you know which one is the most probable of my possible futures, don't you?" Assi argued as she gathered some supplies. While she debated philosophy with Fate she might as well prepare a few remedies.

Fate shifted in her seat, getting herself comfortable for another one of their long-winded discussions.

* * *

><p>Sirius relaxed gingerly in one of the chairs beside Remus's bed in the Hospital Wing, careful of the bruise on his right hip.<p>

"Moony really went berserker last night." James commented from a chair beside Sirius's, nursing his bruised arm.

Sirius grunted. "I think he's getting stronger with age."

"I hope we do too." James said, rubbing his shoulder delicately. "I should go see if Sophia has any more magical chocolate."

"Sorry, my magical stores are running low." Assi said as she walked around the partition.

"Sophia!" James jumped out of his and stood in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" Peter hissed from Remus's other side.

Sirius had the sudden urge to growl at Peter for talking to Assi like that. He held his tongue. These days he was having such a hard time controlling himself from snapping at him and as exhausted as he was at the moment wasn't helping his resolve.

"Calm down." Assi said, waving them away. "I just wanted to make sure all of you were alright."

"Why wouldn't we be?" James asked as Sirius carefully stood and walked to stand beside him.

Assi was standing in front of them, acting as if it were just another day. As if she were still Sophia.

Sirius couldn't help but study her standing in the Hospital Wing in the bright light of day.

Assi gave him a timid smile as she brushed a stray curl behind her ear. "I was afraid Remus's 'furry little problem' ate you," she told him with a small smile.

Sirius couldn't stop his lips from quirking at that.

She cleared her throat before pushing past James and Sirius to Remus's side.

She set her bag on the bedside table and dug around inside. "Has Pomphry looked him over yet?" she asked distractedly.

"Yes," James said, cautiously.

"Good." She took out two closed vials, one filled with a purple syrupy looking liquid and the other half filled with a white liquid while the top half was filled with a smoky white vapor.

Assi examined the two, even turning the purple one upside down. When she seemed satisfied with them she handed them over to Sirius and told him to hold them.

Sirius looked at the vials, wondering what they could possibly be. He turned his attention back to Assi who had taken out a clear bottle filled with a red liquid.

Sirius's eyebrows rose in surprise. _Is that wine?_ he wondered as she opened the stopper and smelled the contents, smiling in satisfaction.

She grave the bottle to James and then took out five glasses from her bag. She handed one to Peter, took the bottle from James, gave him a glass, took the white vial from Sirius, gave it to James, gave a glass to Sirius, poured the wine into her glass, downed the glass, put the bottle next to the last glass still on Remus's bedside and put her cup back into her bag.

"Give Remus those two when he wakes up." she said, pointing to the vials and shouldering her bag. "They'll have him on his feet within a few hours. The potion in the bottle will help quicken the healing of any of your cuts, bruises, or sore muscles. The more you take the quicker you will heal. But I recommend you don't take any more than two glassfuls."

As suddenly as she arrived, she left, leaving Sirius once again wondering if he'd imagined the entire thing .

"What just happened?" James asked, blinking down at the white vial and clear glass in his hands.

Sirius looked down at his vial and glass. He just shrugged. He wasn't quite sure what had happened either.

"You should throw those away." Peter said, motioning to the vials.

Sirius frowned, "Why?"

"Because they could be poison." Peter said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Sirius frowned as he looked at the vial in his hands.

"Fifi wouldn't try to poison Moony." Sirius said. Of that he was positive. It wasn't just the fact that The Weaver had told him she was a healer, it was more that he knew her. He knew the type of person Assi was and he trusted her. It was as simple and complicated as that. He trusted her. And he knew she wouldn't hurt Remus.

"I don't know, Padfoot. Wormtail could be right. I like Sophia, too, but… I don't know. She could have something against werewolves." James shook his head and placed the vial on the bedside table. "We should just let Moony decide when he wakes up."

Sirius nodded and put his vial beside James's. He supposed that was a good idea. He might trust her but he couldn't expect his friends to blindly do the same.

Sirius lifted the red potion and smelled it. "Smells like strawberries." he murmured as he poured himself a glass and sat back in his chair to wait for Remus to wake up and for Assi's elixir to work its magic.

James poured himself a glass and sat beside Sirius, he looked over and grinned, "So… Fifi?"

Sirius took a drink of his glass and nodded approvingly. It actually tasted quite good, "What about her?"

James began drinking his wine-look-alike. "You trust her."

"I do." Sirius answered with a nonchalant shrug.

"You shouldn't be drinking that." Peter said reproachfully, frowning across from them.

"Why not?" James asked, looking at his glass curiously. "It tastes good."

"She did take the first drink, Wormtail." Sirius scowled.

"Maybe the poison is only at the bottom," Peter grumbled, most likely upset James and Sirius weren't taking his threats seriously.

_Well too bloody bad._ Sirius thought to himself downing half the glass of wine in one gulp.

"Not everything is poisoned." James told him with a laugh. "And besides, that's no way to think of Padfoot's future bride."

Sirius choked on the drink he had just swallowed.

"See Wormtail." James said as he slapped Sirius's back. "Even mentioning her, gets Padfoot emotional."

"I'm going to kill you, Prongs." Sirius threatened as he managed to regain his ability to breathe.

James laughed and Sirius glowered.

Just his luck that they'd remember Assi existed long enough to poke fun at him.


End file.
